Watching our pets beats looking at our partners in a poll of the nation’s favourite (eye) sights[1] conducted to mark FrEYEday, a National Eye Health Week initiative, designed to get people taking better of their eyes.[2]
Our vision is so important, which is why it’s no surprise 83 percent of us say it’s the sense we’d least like to lose.[3] And, when asked about our favourite (eye) sights, watching our ‘children play’ came top, closely followed by looking at a sea-view and watching our be-loved pets at number three.
The sight of our partner trailed in at number five in the poll. Other favourites included scenic views such as the rolling countryside and the sunset, whilst sports fans voted seeing their team score and frazzled home workers admitted they couldn’t wait to see the clock strike 5pm on a Friday.
While we all cherish our eyesight, we’re not always good at looking after it. An incredible 50 percent of sight loss is avoidable.[4] “So it’s vital that we get back into the habit of having routine sight tests and making healthy lifestyle choices,” says David Cartwright chair of Eye Health UK the charity responsible for National Eye Health Week.
David continues: “There were more than four million fewer sight tests conducted in 2020 than 2019 [4] so I’d urge anyone whose missed a routine eye check recently to book one, as early detection of chronic eye conditions is crucial to prevent unnecessary vision loss.”
Lifestyle choices pose another big threat to eye health. Regardless of your genetic predisposition, diet, weight, activity levels, alcohol consumption and whether or not you smoke can all affect your chances of suffering poor eye health, including the four main causes of sight loss – macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts.
However new research conducted for National Eye Health Week found awareness of the link between lifestyle and eye health is low.
Just a fifth of us (20%) are aware that physical activity can impact eye health, almost two thirds (63%) of us are oblivious of a link between weight (BMI) and eye health, whilst fewer than 4 in 10 of us are aware of a link between smoking and eye health, when in fact smokers are up to four times more likely to lose their sight than non-smokers.[5]
For more on looking after your eyes and an online vision checker visit visionmatters.org.uk
