High rate of myopia among adolescents arouses concern

The overall myopia rate among Chinese adolescents reached 53.6 percent in 2018, according to a news briefing from the Ministry of Education on Wednesday, youth.cn reported.

The myopia rates of six-year-old children, primary school students, junior high school students and high school students were 14.5 percent, 36 percent, 71.6 percent, and 81 percent, respectively.

The myopia rate among children from 15 provinces was above the average rate across the country, and that among children from 24 provinces was beyond 50 percent.

Wang Dengfeng, director of the Department of Physical, Health and Arts Education, said causes of myopia were complicated.

Excessive schoolwork, abuse of electronic products, limited extracurricular physical exercise, especially outdoor exercise poor eye habits and other factors can all lead to myopia among children, he said.

The ministry and nine other departments issued a series of measures to reduce the burden on primary and secondary school students. It has also deepened reform on physical education to ensure sufficient hours in health and physical exercises.

Disciplines and majors related to optometrists have been added at 30 universities and 69 higher vocational colleges to provide support in prevention and control of myopia among children.

The ministry included students' visual health as an index to determine students' physical health status, and will conduct selected examinations at schools as a way of supervision.

The ministry, with the National Health Commission, set an annual target of reducing myopia rate among children. It hopes provinces and regions can reduce the myopia rate among children by 0.5 or 1 percent each year.