Myopia - is not a virus. But today it has acquired almost epidemic proportions. Think of war movies: bespectacled were Germans . Our soldiers did not suffer this. And now? Loss of vision, blindness, - this is the most severe disability.But here is how to reconcile the irreconcilable: study hard, be successful in the profession and eye health? There are different techniques...
Some believe that the only consequence of myopia - the need to wear glasses rest of my life (besides, frankly, a little bespectacled always evokes emotion). But make no mistake: with the 1980s the number of severe cases of myopia in Asia more than doubled. And if there is myopia in children early in life, it is much more likely to acquire severe form, which in turn is a risk factor even more dangerous disorders: retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts, blindness ...
Such a dramatic spread of myopia becomes a serious problem, but doctors could not establish the cause. Myopia - it is mostly hereditary visual impairment, but a marked increase in its frequency signals the importance of the child's environment. Thus, the link has been established between this disorder and a series of risk factors: frequent reading, sports, television, protein foods and depression. Be that as it may, with special consideration experts found that the impact of these factors on myopia is not too much.
Descend to play on the street
Scientists believe that they were able to identify the main culprit: kids today spend too much time indoors. In 2008, Katherine Rose ophthalmologist found that myopia is observed only in 3 % of people living in Sydney 6 -7 -year-old offspring of Chinese migrants, while in Singapore it is about 29%.
Usual factors ( reading screens of electronic devices ) was not enough to explain such differences. Australian group read a little more and spent time on the computer, while children from Singapore a little more watching television. In general, the differences were minor and were canceling each other. What, then, to explain everything ? Australian children spent an average of 13.75 hours per week on the street, and their comrades from Singapore - 3.05 hours . Gloomy figures.
Katherine Rose, the work which followed the magazine Science News, notes huge differences in educational culture in Sydney and Singapore. In kindergarten, the majority of Australian children first learn to communicate and collaborate game instead of reading and writing: one year half-day classes are conducted, and for the second year - the whole day. At the same stage of development of a typical Singaporean child for three years held a full course: his task is to learn to read before entering elementary school. Thus, outdoor games are sacrificed on the altar of learning.
Myopia kids monkeys
Last pursues this goal: to prove to assess and explain the relationship between the time on the street and the proper development of the eye. Published dozens of papers, mostly in Asia. The conclusion is: every additional hour a week on the street by 2% reduces the risk of myopia in children.
But how is it time outdoors can protect children from myopia? So far in this respect there is no consensus. In particular , the speculation that the street children are forced to focus on more distant objects, while in the room, they spend much more time on the computer, books and toys that are much closer to him. Whatever it was conducted on rhesus monkeys study suggests that the most likely explanation is the effect of light.
In primates, myopia is extremely rare, but scientists can easily provoke her to fend for young from normal sunlight (outside lighting typically 100 times more intense than in the room). In other words, there is nothing surprising in the fact that in recent decades a sharp increase in myopia is observed in Singapore, where the difference between the intensity of external and outdoor lighting can reach monstrous sizes.
be optimistic
In general, this information sounds promising. If children were myopic, just looking at things around, we would be faced with an insoluble dilemma: which is better, to teach them to read or save them vision? The thought of having something to confine one worried and occupied the minds of researchers for many years.
In the 1930s, researchers discovered that myopia occurs especially rare in hunter-gatherer societies. In the 1960s, experts have found that the older generation Alaskan Native, who had not yet been schools, much less susceptible to myopia than their children. Similarly, 20 years ago in Singapore study found an association between time spent on studies and short-sightedness. If the problem is actually related to the intensity of light, you could send a child with a book on the street or buy special lighting.
Go to the street if you do not want to go blind
Meanwhile, though, there is a catch here . Parents are much less likely than in the past, they send their children to walk on the street. In addition , computers, video games and TV shows are new for many kids too strong temptation. According to scientists in 2002 children are on average performed outside twice in less time than in 1981. In America, myopia, of course, has not yet reached the Asian level, but all comes down to. Research from 2009 shows a sharp increase in the incidence of this disorder among Americans aged 12 to 54 years (from 25 % in the early 1970s to 42 % by the end of the century). (And what we - what is better?)
Perhaps fathers and mothers present worth memorize this phrase: "Go play on the street if you do not want to go blind!"