We Keep Children’s Eyes in Focus
We Keep Children's Eyes in Focus
Preventing the increase of myopia in children – spending just one hour outdoors helps children enormously.
A new study from the United Kingdom demonstrates the positive influence of time spent outdoors on the development of children’s eyes. Whereas reading for an extended period without interruption promotes the increase of myopia.
According to a recent study from the United Kingdom*, conducted over a period of 8 years with over 3,000 children, the effects of risk factors for myopia have been significantly underestimated in conventional analyses.
While genetics play an important role in the initial susceptibility and progression rate of myopia, modern lifestyle factors also appear to trigger or accelerate myopia. The study demonstrated that an additional hour of reading per day was associated with a shift toward myopia of −0.44 to −0.88 D.
On the other hand, an additional hour spent outdoors daily during childhood resulted in a shift toward hyperopia of +0.53 to +0.94 diopters (D). The development of myopia can therefore be inhibited.
Based on our extensive experience in myopia management, we additionally recommend using special eyeglass lenses or contact lenses for myopia control.
Photo by freepik.com
* Estimating the True Effect of Lifestyle Risk Factors for Myopia: A Longitudinal Study of UK Children
Jeremy A. Guggenheim; Rosie Clark; Anna Pease; Peter S. Blair; Cathy Williams; on behalf of the UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium. Source ↗︎