Half of China's youth suffer from myopia,second only behind
Japan, a Chinese ophthalmologist has warned.
China also has the largest myopic population in the world, with
more than 300 million people wearing glasses to correct
nearsightedness.
This accounts for nearly a quarter of the total population, ten
percent higher than the world average, according to Ge Jian,
director of the renowned Ophthalmic Center at Sun Yat-sen
University in Guangzhou.
Ge attributed the high rate of myopia to the strain on the eyes
caused by large amounts of schoolwork, excessive television viewing
and playing of computer games.
He also warned that 85 percent of prescription glasses in China
were substandard because there are a lack of trained specialists in
the field.
"In China, the public, doctors and optometrists are not
well-trained in optic knowledge. One can have very different eye
test results in different hospitals or opticians," Ge said, adding
that the country urgently needs ophthalmologists.
(Xinhua News Agency?October 8, 2007)