Near Sightedness on the rise

There was an interesting story on NPR this morning about the rise of Myopia, or near sightedness.  Apparently, since the 70’s, cases of Myopia among persons aged 15-54 have risen.  In the 70’s about a quarter of those surveyed were Myopic, compared to 40.6 percent of those surveyed from 1999 to 2004, which is an increase of about 66 percent!  The rise is generally linked to an increase in “near work”, things like working on the computer, reading, and watching TV.  However, it appears that time spent outside as children can reduce myopia, although the exact reason why is still up for debate.

Here is a link to the study as well as a link to the article.