The Childhood Myopia Barometer places the prevalence at 26.4% among 5 to 7-year-olds and warns that it could reach 30% by 2030. Screen time and near vision activities increase the risk.
The 26.4% of children aged 5 to 7 had myopia in 2024 and 2025, according to the Childhood Myopia Barometer compiled by the ALAIN AFFLELOU Foundation and the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), as reported by Europa Press. If the trend of recent years continues, the figure could reach 30% by 2030.
The study links daily habits with the prevalence of this visual defect. Among children who spend up to two hours a day on near vision activities (reading, doing homework, or using digital devices), myopia affects 14.8%. For those exceeding three hours, the percentage rises to 20.7%.
Screen use also shows differences. Myopia is present in 16.5% of children who use digital devices for less than a quarter of the time they spend on near activities. The figure rises to 20.3% when screen time exceeds half of the total.
The optometrist and training manager at ALAIN AFFLELOU, Ana Díaz, suggests a series of guidelines for families:
Incorporate different habits into their daily routines to care for children's vision, such as limiting continuous screen time, encouraging visual breaks during near activities, and promoting outdoor activity.
These routines should include regular eye check-ups, as timely detection of any alterations allows for monitoring their progression and identifying pre-myopia states before they advance. UCM professor and researcher Cristina Álvarez Peregrina notes that understanding how daily habits influence this can help "continue researching the environmental factors involved in the development of myopia."
The ALAIN AFFLELOU Foundation has been promoting this barometer in Spain since 2016. The results indicate reducing continuous near viewing time, taking more breaks, and spending more time outdoors as measures to protect children's visual health.
You may also like
