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Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

economist.com

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Re: Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

#21

Post by _the_inflator »

nilsbunger wrote: post #2

I didn’t realize the evidence is strong that daylight keeps kids from becoming near-sighted. Making young kids study all the time is killing their eyesight!

In earlier years, this was correlated with highly giftedness, because IQ kids used to suck in more information which means reading a lot: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19127804/ ;)

Re: Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

#22

Post by jart »

gtsnexp wrote: post #14

Myopia has been an epidemic for many years now. And the future prospects look grim. Fortunately, there are research groups tackling this issue hoping to develop some gene-therapy approach.

What? Why do we need to genetically engineer people for wearing glasses?

Re: Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

#23

Post by fillerInk »

Not just with light, spending more time indoors means kids don't have to focus their eyes on longer distances these days. There would be a correlation between the amount of time spent indoors during the formative years and the chances of becoming myopic in the future.

Re: Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

#27

Post by rightbyte »

nilsbunger wrote: post #2

I didn’t realize the evidence is strong that daylight keeps kids from becoming near-sighted. Making young kids study all the time is killing their eyesight!

If this was the case people living far north should be in a really bad spot for nearsightness.

Maybe it is that if pupils are outside they focus far away when looking up, rather than sun light?

Re: Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

#28

Post by gspr »

rightbyte wrote: post #27
nilsbunger wrote: post #2

I didn’t realize the evidence is strong that daylight keeps kids from becoming near-sighted. Making young kids study all the time is killing their eyesight!

If this was the case people living far north should be in a really bad spot for nearsightness. Maybe it is that if pupils are outside they focus far away when looking up, rather than sun light?

Or maybe the effect takes years of sustained lack of light to work, and northern summers compensate?

Re: Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

#29

Post by harshreality »

jart wrote: post #22
gtsnexp wrote: post #14

Myopia has been an epidemic for many years now. And the future prospects look grim. Fortunately, there are research groups tackling this issue hoping to develop some gene-therapy approach.

What? Why do we need to genetically engineer people for wearing glasses?

Myopia is a risk factor for floaters, retinal detachment, and glaucoma. It's objectively not neutral, despite that glasses exist.

Glasses are also inconvenient, cost money, can be lost or broken, and don't cover the entire field of vision, and contacts have their own problems.

Re: Shortsightedness has become an epidemic

#30

Post by gspr »

jart wrote: post #22
gtsnexp wrote: post #14

Myopia has been an epidemic for many years now. And the future prospects look grim. Fortunately, there are research groups tackling this issue hoping to develop some gene-therapy approach.

What? Why do we need to genetically engineer people for wearing glasses?

Because glasses suck, and we don't wanna condemn future generations to wear them if they don't have to (and they still can if they so choose, of course).
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