Additional time spent outdoors by children results in decreased rate of nearsightedness

http://ekaweb01.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/tjnj-ats091115.php

Public Release: 15-Sep-2015
Additional time spent outdoors by children results in decreased rate of nearsightedness
The JAMA Network Journals

The addition of a daily outdoor activity class at school for three years for children in Guangzhou, China, resulted in a reduction in the rate of myopia (nearsightedness, the ability to see close objects more clearly than distant objects), according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA.

Myopia has reached epidemic levels in young adults in some urban areas of East and Southeast Asia. In these areas, 80 percent to 90 percent of high school graduates now have myopia. Myopia also appears to be increasing, more slowly, in populations of European and Middle Eastern origin. Currently, there is no effective intervention for preventing onset. Recent studies have suggested that time spent outdoors may prevent the development of myopia, according to background information in the article.

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