THE SUN, YOU SEE, IS THE KEY.....

Have been noticing since moving here that the aussie 'kia's' or kids here don't seem to wear glasses that much. Very few of them can be spotted wearing glasses in Jordan's school. However, many kids in Malaysia and Singapore are bespectacled at an early age. Could it be the diet, the air, the genetics, what?? In fact, My research landed me into this article which might carry some answers to this phenomenon.

Spending time outdoors in the sun stops myopia, according to Australian research study Jan 7. Playing outdoors in the sun reduces the risk of myopia in children, according to an Australian Research Council study highlighted by Today (Here’s sunny hope for the short-sighted; Wednesday, January 7, 2009). Ultraviolet light stops the eyeball from growing longer which results in myopia.

The Today report indicates that up to 90% of Singaporean students wear glasses by the time they leave school as opposed to just 20 % of Australians at a similar life stage. 30% of six and seven-year-old Singaporeans are myopic while only 1.3 % of Australians are at the same age. The Australian study compared ethnic Chinese children in Singapore and Australia to remove ethnicity as a factor.

A look at any Housing & Development Board (HDB) estate in Singapore will confirm the state of affairs. The playgrounds are typically empty because children usually prefer to stay indoors these days. Even if they did want to go out, caregivers are loath to let them out of their sight. A glance around parks nestled in housing estates will also yield few youngsters. Another reason is that youths are often stuck in school for various Co-Curricular Activities (CCA). And if they out of school, they are stuck in tuition or other enrichment classes. Some parents are also paranoid about seeing their young children turn a darker shade from the sun and keep them indoors during the day.

Singapore’s myopia problem is so severe that it has emerged as a national security issue. The Defense Science & Technology Agency in Singapore conducted a study with 15,000 pre-enlistees and found that 80% wore glasses.

I am of course, hoping to keep my son off glasses as long as possible. But the sun here is pretty strong with zero clouds on most days that the UV can get pretty harmful. He gets plenty of sun everyday at school and has turned a shade darker. But perhaps that's what they mean by brown and healthy, not just the looks but the eyesight, u know...