The “epidemic” of myopia or shortsightedness has grabbed headlines over the last year. There is an increasing rate of myopia in the cities of East Asia, now affecting over 80% of school leavers. Higher level of education is a well-defined risk for the development of myopia. Education levels have risen since 1950’s in Australia. In fact, postgraduate enrolments have doubled in the last 30 years.

In our interactive discussion, we will consider the following points and share results from our current studies:

• What is myopia?
• What causes myopia?
• The link between myopia and education
• The myopia prevalence in young Western Australians
• How changes in education have affected myopia rates in Australia
• Can we prevent myopia without giving up our education?