In Japan, the proportion of high school students with a vision below 1.0 has reached a record level of 67.09%
To maintain good vision, you need to blink more often, look into the distance and occasionally go out into the sunlight - these are some tips that ophthalmologists give. In the world of smartphones, their advice is becoming even more relevant, especially in the most technologically advanced countries, such as Japan.
On December 21, 2018, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technologies of Japan published a preliminary report of the School Health Statistics Survey on a study of school health statistics.
The study determined that the proportion of students in primary and secondary schools with a vision of less than 1.0 reached a record high.
The study makes an assumption about the reasons for the decline in schoolchildren’s view: “According to experts, an increase in the use of smartphones and handheld gaming devices seems to increase the amount of time users spend looking closely at a screen.”
According to the results of medical examinations conducted from April to June of this year across the country from kindergarten to pupils of primary and middle and senior classes (aged 5 to 17 years), about 3.42 million people were surveyed, which is 25, 3% of the total number of children of this age in Japan.
The study showed that the proportion of children with visual acuity below 1.0 was:
- primary school: 34.10%
- middle school: 56.04%
- High School: 67.09%
Primary and high school indicators are a record for the entire time of measurement, and the high school indicator is close to the record level of 2005 (56.33%).
Also, doctors note high incidence rates of ear and dermatitis, but a reduction to a minimum level of caries.