Recently my little nephew, he is six going on seven, was diagnosed with nearsightedness. Came as quite a surprise to me…he doesn’t watch that much of TV and nor is he addicted to computers. Does his home work in a well lit room…Ok, he is a fussy eater but one can’t really say his diet is seriously deficient in vital nutrients. His mom never suffered from myopia and dad developed it well into his late teens. So, what caused it really? It got be searching the net and I chanced upon this article on research on the relationship between outdoor activity and myopia in 6-12 year olds.

The article says that it is the time spent outdoors in the Sun that is important rather than engagement in some form of active sport. Thats exactly what my nephew does not do. He likes to play indoors and more often than not the only time he steps out of home is to go to school (where he is indoors again) or to visit a friend at his home (again indoors) or for an outing in the evening with his mom and dad.

According to the research it is the intensity of outdoor light that may be an important factor. And they use it to explain the lower prevelance of myopia in children in Australia. It goes on to suggest  that public health measures would do well to encourage children to indulge in some form of outdoor activity, to reduce their chances of developing myopia. 

Alright, gives me enough reason to push him to go outdoors and play. And just be! All the synthetic environment gets to me anyway and I can’t imagine why kids these days want to be indoors all the time, when they can very well be playing out in the open! Perhaps we need to introspect and see if we are creating an environment of too much comfort for them indoors and if it is that which gives them little reason to step out.

Tags: cause of shortsightedness, healthy living, myopia, natural health, prevent nearsightedness