第1695期:Rise in short-sightedness in children

How's your eyesight? From the moment we're born, our eyes grow, our vision becomes clearer and some of us will have normal or even 20:20 vision. However, others will become short-sighted and end up wearing glasses or contact lenses to help them see everything clearly. And some experts claim that more of us will be wearing them in the future because of our lifestyle when we were younger.你的视力怎么样？从我们出生的那一刻起，我们的眼睛就会长大，我们的视力会变得更清晰，我们中的一些人会拥有正常甚至 20:20 的视力。然而，其他人会变得近视，最终会戴上眼镜或隐形眼镜来帮助他们看清一切。一些专家声称，由于我们年轻时的生活方式，未来会有更多人佩戴它们。Even today, optometrists are reporting a rise in short-sightedness – also called myopia – in children. The condition can be genetic, but it's also partly being blamed on a number of modern-day factors – particularly children staring at phone screens, computers and game consoles for long periods of time. It's believed myopia also makes them susceptible to secondary eye conditions such as glaucoma, retinal detachment and other visual impairments later in life.即使在今天，验光师也报告说儿童近视（也称为近视）人数有所增加。这种情况可能是遗传的，但也部分归咎于许多现代因素——尤其是儿童长时间盯着手机屏幕、电脑和游戏机。据信，近视还使他们在以后的生活中容易患上青光眼、视网膜脱离和其他视力障碍等继发性眼病。Of course, children have had increased screen time due to lockdowns imposed during the Covid pandemic – it's been the only way to access education and communicate with others. But education generally could be blamed for the rise in myopia. Neema Ghorbani-Mojarrad, lecturer at the University of Bradford, told BBC Future website: "We suspect it is reading and spending more time indoors. Every year of education completed increases the expected amount of short-sightedness."当然，由于 Covid 大流行期间实施的封锁，孩子们看屏幕的时间增加了——这是获得教育和与他人交流的唯一途径。但教育通常可以归咎于近视的增加。布拉德福德大学讲师 Neema Ghorbani-Mojarrad 告诉 BBC Future 网站：“我们怀疑它正在阅读并在室内花费更多时间。每年完成的教育都会增加近视的预期数量。”The problem appears to be more severe in some Asian countries. Some experts say that in these places with huge educational success, children spend more time indoors studying. Therefore, it seems, spending more time outdoors could be good for children's eye health. The UK's College of Optometrists is suggesting parents should get their kids playing outside for two hours a day. Several scientific studies show this can prevent or stop the development of myopia.这个问题在一些亚洲国家似乎更为严重。一些专家说，在这些教育成功的地方，孩子们在室内学习的时间更多。因此，看来，花更多的时间在户外可能对孩子的眼睛健康有益。英国验光师学院建议父母每天让孩子在户外玩耍两个小时。多项科学研究表明，这可以预防或阻止近视的发展。There's been a focus on using technology, such as laser surgery, for fixing myopia, but for children at least, it seems a dose of daylight and a break from the screen might be part of the solution. Opticians also recommend kids have regular eye tests to identify any problems before they become more severe.人们一直关注使用激光手术等技术来矫正近视，但至少对于儿童而言，似乎一定剂量的日光和远离屏幕可能是解决方案的一部分。配镜师还建议孩子定期进行眼科检查，以便在问题变得更严重之前发现任何问题。词汇表eyesight 视力vision 视力，视觉20:20 vision 正常裸眼视力short-sighted 近视的wear glasses 戴眼镜wear contact lenses 戴隐形眼镜optometrist 验光师，配镜师myopia 近视genetic 基因遗传的secondary eye condition 继发性眼病glaucoma 青光眼retinal detachment 视网膜脱离visual impairment 视觉障碍screen time （看电视、电脑、手机等的）屏幕时间laser surgery 激光手术optician 配镜师，眼镜销售员eye test 视力测试