Eye Health UK has called for opticians to offer lifestyle advice when writing prescriptions in order to lower the number of people in the UK living with avoidable sight loss.
Launched during National Eye Health Week, the appeal has received support from both multiple and independent opticians practices.
Chairman of Eye Health UK David Cartwright said: ‘Your lifestyle can have a serious impact on your eye health regardless of your genetic predisposition and is linked to all four major causes of sight loss: macular degeneration, the UK’s leading cause of blindness, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts, yet people are unaware that there is an association.
'Reaching out to people with lifestyle advice that encourages them to make simple changes to their diet, smoking habits and activity levels will play a critical role in saving people’s sight in the future.’