Half of the world’s population will be short-sighted in 30 years

ISLAMABAD: Half the world's population will be short-sighted in 30 years, with a fifth at significant increased risk of blindness as a result, a study has found.

The condition, which means people struggle to see distant objects clearly, is set to become a leading cause of permanent blindness worldwide, researchers warn. This is because severe forms of the condition raise the risk of eye problems which lead to permanent loss of vision. Researchers warned the number of people suffering vision loss as a result of severe short-sightedness will increase seven-fold from 2000 to 2050, says a report published in Daily Mail.

Experts blame lifestyle changes for the alarming rise, such as children spending less time outdoors in natural light and more time reading books or looking at screens. They advise parents to have children’s eyes checked regularly, send them outdoors to play and limit the time they spend reading and using electronic devices.

Short-sightedness, known medically as myopia, causes people to have difficulty seeing distant objects clearly. The condition causes the eyes to continue to grow, causing them to become too long from front to back.

It means light doesn't reach the light sensitive tissue, the retina, at the back of the eye. Instead, the rays focus in front of the retina, causing distant objects to appear blurred.

People can be born with short-sightedness, but it usually begins in childhood, around the age of six and onwards, and can worsen until early adult years. Adults with no previous problems with their eyes can also develop it- and it is treated with glasses, contact lenses and surgery.

The study, from the Brien Holden Vision Institute, said nearly 5 billion will have short-sightedness by 2050. Currently, it's estimated there are 2 billion people with the condition in the world, a figure that is growing rapidly.

And the number of 'high myopes' - those with severe short-sightedness - will rise from 163 million in 2000 to 1 billion in 2000, researchers said.

This is worrying as severe form of the condition increases the likelihood of serious eye conditions, such as myopic macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma and retinal detachment. Many of these can lead to permanent blindness.

Professor Kovin Naidoo, of Brien Holden Vision Institute and co-author of the report said the rise is a 'global public health problem', and they said health chiefs need to plan for eye care services to manage the rise in 'high myopes'.

She continued: 'We also need to ensure our children receive a regular eye examination from an optometrist or ophthalmologist, preferably each year, so that preventative strategies can be employed if they are at risk. These strategies include more time outdoors and less time spent on 'near-based' activities including reading and looking at screens.

Previous research has shown rates of the condition are highest in countries where they have an intensive education regime, forcing children to spend the majority of their time indoors.

A study published earlier this month concluded rising rates in Britain may be caused by a lack of natural daylight, with children today more likely to be indoors staring at a computer screen than playing in the park. Spending just an extra hour a day in the sunshine each day should improve a children’s sight, they said.