Study: HK has world's highest rate of myopic kids

Hong Kong tops a world ranking for 6-year-old children with myopia, after a survey found that 11.4 percent — or more than 1 in 10 — are nearsighted.

A research team of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which unveiled its findings on Thursday, said the numbers in Hong Kong surpassed other countries and regions such as Beijing (7.4 percent), Singapore (6.6 percent) and India (5.9 percent).

The prevalence of myopia in children will increase nearly fourfold to 44.5 percent for 9-year-olds, according to a local vision screening program for more than 13,000 4-to-9-year-old children in Hong Kong.

Researchers believe this trend is related to the environment around schoolchildren entering primary schools, including an increasing academic workload.

Habits such as keeping a distance of 30 cm when reading and moving the focus away from computer screens for 20 to 30 seconds every 20 to 30 minutes may help slow down the progression of nearsightedness in children, they said.