More and more children are becoming myopic: "Sit many hours in front of screens"

As Sveriges Radio's Ekot was the first to report, more and more children are seeking help from the optician, mainly for myopia.

The vision defect is partly due to genetics, but research shows that myopia is linked to close work, to many hours spent in front of books, toads and mobile phones.

Lack of daylight also plays a role.

- Then it is always difficult to check how large a percentage depends on what, says Rune Brautase, chairman of the association of opticians and professor at Karolinska Institutet.

There is little data regarding myopia and Swedish children.

- But know that the percentage has increased by a few percent.

But if we look out into the world, especially in Asian countries, there are areas where 70-80 percent are myopic.

According to Rune Brautaset, approximately 25-30 percent of children between the ages of 8 and 15 in Sweden will at some point need visual aids.

Hear in the clip what you can do to prevent visual impairment.