Scientists say an epidemic of myopia, or nearsightedness, is sweeping through Asian children, and is likely due to students’ spending too much time indoors studying and not enough time outside in the sunlight. It has long been thought that nearsightedness is mostly a hereditary problem, but researchers led by Ian Morgan of Australian National University say the data suggest that environment has a lot more to do with it. Reporting in the journal Lancet, the authors note that up to 90% of young adults in major East Asian countries, including China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, are nearsighted. The overall rate of myopia in the U.K., by contrast, is about 20% to 30%. (MORE: Early Success in a Human Embryonic Stem Cell Trial to Treat Blindness) In Singapore, for example, rates of nearsightedness in three different ethnic groups — Chinese, Indian and Malay — have increased since 1996. Because all three groups are equally affected, says Morgan, it’s likely that some common environmental factor is driving the rise. Studies of East Asian populations that have moved to different parts of the world are also revealing: Chinese young adults in Australia, where exposure to bright sunlight is more likely, show lower rates of myopia than Chinese young adults living in cities in East and Southeast Asia. Similarly, white children living in Sydney show lower rates of nearsightedness than those living in the U.K. Particularly concerning is that about 10% to 20% of Asian schoolchildren suffer from high myopia, which puts them at higher risk of more serious vision problems, including blindness, in adulthood. Morgan says the culprit is the massive pressure on Asian children to succeed in school, which leads to too many hours hunched over books indoors and not nearly enough exposure to natural sunlight. Indeed, East Asian countries with high myopia rates are those that dominate international rankings of educational performance, the study notes. (MORE: Tiger Mom Approach Makes Kids Depressed, Study Says) Myopia, which causes people to see clearly things that are near but not those that … Continue reading Why Up to 90% of Asian Schoolchildren Are Nearsighted