Sep 1, 2008, 3:06 GMT
Sydney - It's not the case that lots of television, computer games and poring over textbooks brings on short-sightedness, Australian researchers say.
But it is true that children fond of being outdoors are less likely to be myopic, the Sydney University team said.
Previous studies suggested that those who were sporty were more likely to have normal eyesight.
Kathryn Rose, who oversaw 4,000 eye examinations for schoolchildren, said the figures collected pointed to the outdoors being the major factor.
'Our study shows that the crucial feature is being outdoors - irrespective of the activity you are doing,' Rose said. 'Our results show that the protective effect of time spent outdoors persists even if a child is doing a lot of near work such as reading and studying.'
Sunshine is believed to cut near-sightedness by triggering the release of a chemical called dopamine that stops the excessive eye growth that is the cause of the condition.
The prevalence of myopia is rising worldwide. There are different theories explaining why.
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