Why many classes may leave you needing glasses

BEING a bookworm harms eyesight, new research suggests, with those who spend longer in education much more likely to be short-sighted.

The study of more than 60,000 Britons found that those who went to university had significantly worse vision than those who left school at 16.

Researchers said extra time spent reading and a lack of time outdoors might explain the increased prevalence of short-sightedness among those who spent longer in education.

Previous studies have shown links between education and myopia. But it has not been clear whether shortsighted people become bookish or whether bookishness damages vision.

Researchers from the University of Bristol and Cardiff University used a technique which analyses genetic variants to conclude that the latter is likely to be the case. The study involved 67,798 men and women aged 40 to 69 from the UK Biobank database.