Does a sweet tooth really make you more likely to be nearsighted?

It is a common phenomenon that children love to eat sweets, but eating too much sweets will not only cause tooth decay, but also have a certain impact on the eyes, and may even accelerate the increase of myopia.

Causes of Myopia

1. Genetic factors

Myopia is somewhat hereditary. If the parents have severe myopia, the child will be more likely to inherit the disease.

2. Environmental factors

Prolonged use of electronic products such as mobile phones and computers, improper posture when doing homework and reading, etc., which will keep the eyes in a state of tension and fatigue can cause myopia.

3. Eye injury

Our eyes are very fragile. If trauma causes changes in tissues such as the cornea and lens, causing changes in refractive power, it may lead to myopia.

The effect of eating sweets on the eyes

Eating too much sweets will cause calcium loss, and calcium is an indispensable vitamin for the eyeball and a protector of eye tissue. The loss of calcium in the eyeball will reduce the elasticity of the sclera, reduce the elasticity of the retina, and lengthen the anterior-posterior diameter of the eyeball, thereby increasing myopia. For every 1mm increase in the eye axis, myopia increases by about 300 degrees.

How to slow down the progression of myopia?

1. Do more outdoor sports. Relax your eyes by looking far away, exercising, or other outdoor activities under natural light.

2. Control the time of using electronic products. It is not recommended for children under two years old to use electronic products.

3. Maintain good eye posture. Reduce continuous close-up eye use time and pay attention to standard reading and writing posture.

4. Get enough sleep. It is recommended that primary school students sleep no less than 10 hours a day, junior high school students no less than 9 hours, and high school students no less than 8 hours a day. Avoid staying up late.

Zhu Lina, director of Tianjin University Aier Eye Hospital, said that sweets must be eaten in moderation. Once myopia occurs, it is irreversible. Children's eyeballs are constantly developing and changing. If myopia is not properly prevented and controlled, the degree of myopia will increase too quickly. Once it reaches high myopia, it is more likely to cause retinal detachment, macular degeneration and other problems.