Frequent walks on the street reduce the risk of developing myopia in children
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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British scientists as a result of the study concluded that the frequent walking of children outdoors reduces the risk of developing myopia, or myopia.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge analyzed the data obtained in 8 previous studies of vision in children. The total number of participants in these studies exceeded 10,000 people. The results of this study, they presented at the annual symposium of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Florida.
Although the hereditary predisposition plays a role in the development of myopia, and physical activity, and insufficient illumination in reading books, it is often enough to go out more often to reduce the risk of developing myopia. At the same time, according to the researchers, it does not matter what the child will be doing there.
As it turned out, children with myopia spend on the average on average 3.7 hours a week less than their peers with farsightedness or normal vision. Moreover, every additional hour per week spent in the open air reduces the risk of forming myopia by 2%.
The exact cause of this relationship, scientists have not yet revealed. However, the head of the study Justin Sherwin (Justin Sherwin) suggested that the main reasons for the positive impact of outdoor walks on vision can be looking at subjects at a long distance, the action of solar ultraviolet and physical activity.
The researcher also stressed that children's outdoor walks should be balanced. As is known, prolonged ultraviolet irradiation under direct sunlight is the main risk factor for melanoma, an extremely malignant form of skin cancer.
At the same time, metered walks reduce the risk of not only myopia, but also diseases such as obesity, diabetes, vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis and other diseases.
According to WHO statistics, about 153 million people in the world have any visual impairment.
It should be noted that about 3% of children in the first class have visual impairments, and in children of 3-4 classes this indicator grows to 10%. In grades 7-8 he is 16%, and among high school students about a quarter of children suffer from myopia.
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