Smoking and lack of physical exercises reduces visual acuity

August 11, 2014

Results of the work made in Medical school of Wisconsin University, Madison, USA gave shown that smoking and lack of physical exercises reduces visual acuity. Authors have studied data about 4926 patients in the age of 43-84 years old who participated in research of many years dedicated to vision's condition. Every 5 years participants have filled in questionnaires indicating peculiarities of their way of life, bad habits but researchers have registered how the participants' vision changed during this period.

Data have been processed with the help of machine modeling. As analysis showed smoking influences vision worsening more that alcohol consumption and sedentary lifestyle. Besides, physically active people have by 58% less risk of vision acuity decrement than people who don't smoke and doesn't drink but has sedentary mode of life.

Smoking and abuse of alcohol causes oxidative stress in the body. Free radicals that are formed during this process hasten vision worsening and aging.