As one meta-analysis put it:
It’s estimated that an increase of one hour per day of outdoor time could reduce the occurrence of myopia in children by 45%.
Make sure your kids spend time outside, folks!
As one meta-analysis put it:
It’s estimated that an increase of one hour per day of outdoor time could reduce the occurrence of myopia in children by 45%.
Make sure your kids spend time outside, folks!
You can establish causation even if you don’t know what the mechanism is. I don’t know to what extent causation has been established here though, I’m not familiar enough with the research. But at minimum the intuitive idea that there is a noncausative correlation because kids with bad eyesight choose to stay inside more does not seem to stand, since this phenomenon can exist at a population level (so countries where schools start younger - and kids go outside less - have significantly higher rates of myopia).
I am familiar with the research. We don’t know the reason for nearsightedness. There is no known proven causation. It is likely there are different causes for it.
Being from a sunny country lowers the chance of it (so you’re less likely to be nearsighted if you’re from Spain compared to Norway), even when controlled for hours spent outdoors.
There are studies that just look at outdoor time. I don’t think we know the specific mechanism but we know enough to have recommendations.