Millions of people whose short-sightedness was treated using a common method known as "undercorrecting," may now have worse eyesight.

A study of 94 children in Malaysia, meant to confirm this method, was stopped a year short because the children’s eyesight was not only not improving, but was actually getting worse.

Optometrists have been routinely using undercorrecting for short-sightedness, or myopia, for decades. While the cause of myopia remains unknown, it is common among children who do a lot of close work, such as reading. In the U.S., short-sightedness affects about 15 to 30 percent of children, however in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong 90 percent of young people are affected. In short-sighted people, the eye is not able to focus light from distant objects directly on the retina. Instead, the point of focus is in front of the retina, which creates a blurred image. Wearing glasses moves the focal point back onto the retina, correcting the sight problem.

However, while wearing normal glasses the eyeballs elongate in order to find the focal point. This can make distance vision worse and increases the risk of eye diseases, which can lead to blindness. In the undercorrection method, optometrists prescribe a lens that brings the point of focus just in front of the retina as a way to stop they eyeball from elongating. Although this method is widely used, there have been only several studies that provide proof of its effectiveness -- one involving 33 children in 1965 and the rest performed on chicks in the 1990s -- and the relevance of the studies has since been questioned.

In the above-mentioned study, sight was undercorrected in half of the children and fully corrected in the rest. After measuring the length of the eyeball every six months, researchers found that the eyeball elongated faster in the children whose vision was undercorrected.

Researchers suspect that the eye cannot tell whether the focal point is in front of the retina or behind it and that wearing no glasses at all could be worse than undercorrection.

While some researchers find this study conclusive against undercorrection, others believe that further studies are needed to explore this topic.

NewScientist.com November 20, 2002

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

While there appears to be some controversy in the way people are treated with myopia, what clearly is not being addressed is the major reason why people need glasses in the first place. Primitive cultures seem to have close to universally perfect vision and rarely require glasses. This is a giant clue that suggests our obsession with grains and sugars has caused massive amounts of insulin imbalance, and this is a contributing factor to eyesight problems in the vast majority of those who eventually require glasses. If you are not familiar with this, then you likely missed my review of Dr. Loren Cordain’s article that comprehensively reviewed this topic earlier this year. Just remember, it is not too late for your kids to be without glasses. They won’t like it very much, but all you need to do is stop giving them juice and exchange their breads for vegetables -- please read my entirely updated and simplified nutrition plan for more information -- and you can virtually eliminate the future need for glasses. Prevention sure makes a lot more sense than treating the problem after it has occurred. Related Articles: Near-Sightedness Appears Linked to Excess Sugar in Diet