Eye Surgeon John Bolger urged global action to address increasing myopia rates among youth at this year’s International Myopia Conference 2024.
The conference took place in Sanya City, Hainan Province, China from September 25 to 28.
Evidence has suggested that myopia in children aged 10-16 years has more than doubled over the last 50 years, and children are becoming myopic at a younger age, according to the College of Optometrists.
For Bolger, the root cause of the issue lies in our environment – specifically, the lack of natural daylight.
As Bolger told delegates, modern lifestyles have been making children and young people myopic because they spend most of their time indoors and glued to screens.
He has issued a call to action to get “back to nature” as he explained that ‘daylight holds the key to slowing myopia progression.’
