TRUE LOVE may be blind, but what is causing major distress among Chinese teenagers these days is short-sightedness, as a disproportionate number are forced to wear glasses to correct their myopia.
Chinese health specialists are blaming the rise in the number of short-sighted young people on an increasingly unhealthy lifestyle, with too much time spent indoors playing video games or watching TV.
Nearly 400,000 million Chinese are short-sighted, and 50-60 per cent of adolescents are myopic, according to a report on child near-sightedness conducted by Chinese, American and Australian specialists.
The condition is largely attributed to genetic factors, as it is most likely hereditary, but environmental aspects do play a strong role, according to experts.
Stress is often given as a reason for myopia, and there are other theories for the condition, including consuming too much carbohydrates.
The Chinese rate of myopia is already 1.5 times higher than the global average, a report in the People’s Daily said.
Xu Liang, an ophthalmologist at Beijing’s Tongren hospital, said that myopia can develop throughout adolescence before finally stabilising in the late teens. He said it had less to do with general health than it had to do with leading an unhealthy lifestyle, such as playing long video games and watching TV.
Chen Wenyan, a fifth grade pupil, has suffered a marked decline in his eyesight. He has a 20/40 vision already, a cut-off point of uncorrected myopia. “Classmates [short-sighted] like me are not few, we just don’t wear glasses,” said Chen.
Studies have shown a relationship between myopia and IQ, likely due to the formal education factor.
The pressure to perform academically on students in some Asian societies is deemed to have a negative effect on eyesight.