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Frequent walks outdoors reduce the risk of myopia in children
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
As a result of the study, British scientists came to the conclusion that frequent walks in the open air for children reduces the risk of developing myopia.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge analyzed data from eight previous studies of vision in children, involving more than 10,000 participants. They presented their findings at the annual symposium of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Florida.
Although genetic predisposition, physical activity, and insufficient lighting when reading books all play a role in the development of myopia, simply going outside more often is enough to reduce the risk of developing myopia. At the same time, according to the researchers, it does not matter what the child does there.
As it turned out, children with myopia spend an average of 3.7 hours a week less outdoors than their peers with farsightedness or normal vision. At the same time, each additional hour a week spent outdoors reduces the risk of developing myopia by 2%.
Scientists have not yet identified the exact reason for this relationship. However, the study's leader, Justin Sherwin, suggested that the main reasons for the positive effect of walks in the fresh air on vision may be looking at objects at a distance, the effect of solar ultraviolet radiation, and physical activity.
The researcher also emphasized that children's walks in the fresh air should be balanced. As is known, prolonged ultraviolet radiation under direct sunlight is the main risk factor for the development of melanoma - an extremely malignant form of skin cancer.
At the same time, measured walks reduce the risk of not only myopia, but also diseases such as obesity, diabetes, vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis and other diseases.
According to WHO statistics, about 153 million people in the world have some kind of visual impairment.
It should be noted that about 3% of children in the first grade have visual impairments, and for children in grades 3-4 this figure rises to 10%. In grades 7-8 it is 16%, and among senior schoolchildren approximately a quarter of children suffer from myopia.
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