Makor Rishon has published the results of an interesting study, to determine how many more chareidim wear eyeglasses as compared to the religious and secular communities. 82% of chareidim wear eyeglasses as compared to the dati leumi community (50.3%), and secular Jews (29.7%).
A study presented this week at the conference of the Association of Public Health Physicians and Public Health Schools, attended by 22,823 men who are candidates for IDF service, ages 17 and 18, from three Jewish educational systems in Israel (State, State Religious and Chareidi). It was determined that persons with visual issues requiring corrective lenses was highest among the chareidim, followed by the other sectors.
The fact that the participants in the research were candidates for military service was not coincidental. The research was a thesis by Dr. Dana Bez of the Medical Corps, who studied at the Hebrew University of Israel in the combined track for outstanding students in medicine and in public health.
Dr. Chaggai Levin, head of the Health and Environment Program at the Hebrew University’s Hadassah School of Public Health and Hadassah, said: “The vast majority of the youth in the chareidi school system suffered from nearsightedness, compared to those who studied in the State Religious or State schools. Moreover, the risk of short-sightedness among the chareidim is significantly higher than among those studying in other streams.”
Dr. Levine states: “It is almost certain that the requirements of studies in chareidi schools, which require the student to make a great effort to read closely from an early age, contribute to the development of childhood myopia.
“The results of this study indicate the need for collaboration between the health and education systems in formulating strategies to prevent the development of myopia in children, especially in populations at risk.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
It probably has to do with a higher rate of literacy. Increasingly the secular world is getting more and more information from watching video presentations, whether online, or broadcast, rather than reading. Frum Jews still get much information from printed materials. To truely test this theory, they should check one of the few remaining pre-literate tribes (though many suspect they secretly read when the anthropologists aren’t looking), and determine how many need glasses.
As a medical practitioner in the Optical field I can tell you it has nothing to do with straining the eye!
A knowledgeable ophthalmologist of my acquaintance has told me – without reference to this report, or Chareidim – that there is a psychosomatic aspect to myopia – what the article calls short-sightedness, what most English speakers call near-sightedness – that is best detected by the examining ophthalmologist/optometrist during the examination. I do not know enough about the circumstances of the exams that resulted in such high rates of myopia in Charedi schoolboys, but is important not to overlook the psychomatic factors in understanding the myopia.
many leading eye Doctors have told me over the last 15 years that the way we learn definitely does strain the eyes and cause near-nearsightedness, the proper distance your reading material is at arms length.
So dear medical practitioner please explain why the majority of chareidim need eye glasses. I live in the proximity of 3 large gentile schools and you hardly see a child with eye wear.
Does it have to do with swaying back and forth during learning?
It is not hard to notice that % of Chinese people wearing spectacles is also significantly higher, than amongst the general population. Is it connected to their reading more? To do with much bigger arch/gap between their 2 eyes?
Actually I recall a previous study done in Israel that showed that the swaying back and forth indeed causes myopia by forcing the eye to constantly refocus.
Other explanations:
Goyim (inc frei Jews) might prefer contact lens (consider that in our culture is a “man-ly” to look like a scholar, in their culture it is often considered to be a “sissie” trait. In many western countries, a man is expected to bo other than scholarly, so we value “glasses” rather than something emphasizing physical prowess or sporting skills.
Perhaps since goyim read less, the might not want to bother with glasses, They would be more concerned with the distance for watching a screen than reading a book.
Jewish men are less vain (has someone compared eyeglass use among frum Jews by gender).
I THINK ITS BECAUSE THEY DONT GO TO THE ARMY…