[Research progress on the impact of physical activity on myopia in children and adolescents]

Childhood and adolescent myopia has emerged as a growing public health concern worldwide, with accumulating evidence confirming regular physical activity as a robust preventive strategy against myopia. This article systematically reviews the associations between the characteristics of physical activity and myopia development in children and adolescents. Existing studies have demonstrated that ball sports exert prominent effects on curbing myopia progression, while outdoor physical activity confers superior protective benefits relative to indoor exercise. Consistently, increased engagement in physical activity is significantly correlated with a lower risk of myopia onset and progression. Such protective effects can be mechanistically explained: ball sports facilitate beneficial regulatory reflexes of the ocular ciliary muscle, whereas high-intensity sunlight exposure and specific solar spectral bands promote retinal dopamine secretion, thereby suppressing myopic development. Furthermore, elevated vitamin D levels may decelerate myopia progression, though the underlying mechanism requires further in-depth investigation.