Play for perfect vision

Myopia is not hereditary, as some would like to believe. A study by Australian scientists, which was quoted in this week's New Scientist argue there are no evidence to support genetic variations as reason for short-sightedness.

Children now spend more time indoors, reading or on the computer, so the eyeballs tend to grow longer to facilitate focusing on closer objects. Additionally, less than optimal lighting, compared to outdoor activities, places a strain on the eyeballs to focus close.

85% of 18-year olds in Singapore are myopic. More significantly, 70% of the 18-year old Indian Singaporeans are myopic compared to only 10% of their subcontinent counterparts, pointing to lifestyle as a highly probable factor for myopia.

So, perhaps, now that an internationally recognised journal has highlighted the obvious, our education administrators would be convinced to remove, or at least unlock the gates to the fences around the fields! They'll be doing National Service by letting the kids play!