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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : September 6, 2018 3:07 PM IST
Video games responsible for the bad eyesight epidemic in China © Shutterstock
In China and other East Asian countries, an epidemic of bad eyesight has affected many in the urban centres. The rate of myopia or nearsightedness is as high as 90 per cent in young adults in Singapore and Hong Kong. Though in the US things aren't as blurry, but about a third of the population has trouble seeing distant objects. If these trends continue then half of the world population could be myopic by 2050, according to the Chicago Tribune report.
However, China blames video games for the bad eyesight epidemic and recently took them to the task. This week the state-run Xinhua News Agency wrote to Xi Jinping, the Communist Party general secretary and China's president that the vision health of the country's young people has always been of great concern. China will limit the sale of new video games.
According to the Chicago Tribune report, Aaron M. Miller, a pediatric ophthalmologist and a clinical spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology reportedly said that China has taken a somewhat extreme stance by singling out video games. He also said that there is no direct correlation or a clear relationship between video games, screen time and nearsightedness development.
Researchers have noticed increased rates of myopia in post-literate societies, college students and in one study they have noticed that people who use microphones frequently suffers from myopia. However, science can offer only a blurry picture of myopia's causes. Myopic parents are more likely to have myopic children, diet and genes also influence myopia. Behaviours can play a role, too. Any prolonged focus on a nearby object comes under a term called "near-work" and some ophthalmologists look to activities lumped together.
A recent study tracked myopia in nearly 2,000 children, between ages 7 and 12, for four years in Taiwan. Most myopia studies focus on children around ages 4 to 12 when eyes grow and change shape.
In India, according to a new study, around 10,000 kids in Delhi who spent more than 14 hours outdoors a week developed myopia at lower-than-average rates.
And the consequences of this myopia boom can be even more serious. As nearsightedness worsens, the risk of diseases like glaucoma increases.
The American Academy of Ophthalmologists recommends that people rest their eyes often by gazing at something other than screens. It has a 20-20-20 rule like every 20 minutes look at a thing 20 feet away for 20 seconds. For example, after beating a video game level or finishing a few book chapters gaze out a window. And, don't forget to blink.
