Insufficient time spent outdoors is the main contributor to
short-sightedness among children in East Asian cities, including
Singapore.
This is according to a paper published in medical journal The
Lancet today. 'Most of (the myopia) we've seen in East Asia is due to
the environment, it is not genetic,' said Professor Ian Morgan, a
researcher at the Australian National University who co-authored the
paper.
The researchers said children who spend two to three hours
outdoors a day are 'probably reasonably safe' from getting myopia. This
could include time spent on the playground and walking to and from
school.
The researchers stressed that being a bookworm or spending time
on the computer is not detrimental to eyesight, as long as time is also
devoted to outdoor activities during the day. Exposure to the sun's rays is believed to stimulate production
of the chemical dopamine, which stops the eyeball from growing elongated
and distorting light that enters the eye.
Prof Morgan noted that children in East Asia spend the majority of their time indoors, studying and watching television. More than half of Singapore's 10-year-olds are short-sighted. Its myopia rate is among the world's highest because children
here spend only about 30 minutes outdoors after school on weekdays, said
Professor Saw Seang Mei who co-authored the Lancet paper.
The professor at National University of Singapore's Saw Swee
Hock School of Public Health, who recommends spending at least 10 hours
outdoors every week, led a recently-concluded, year-long trial here that
took children to parks every weekend to gauge the outdoor effect on
myopia. The team is now studying the data.
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