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Insulin Resistance & Progressive Myopia in Children

Insulin is a hormone that causes cells to take up glucose in the bloodstream. Myopia (also known as nearsightedness) has an estimated 20 percent prevalence in the United States. There has been a connection suggested between insulin resistance and myopia in children.

  1. Myopia

    • Myopia usually occurs when the eyeball is a little longer than normal. As a result light rays focus at a point in front of the retina, causing nearsightedness. There are two types of myopia, youth onset and adult onset.

    Insulin Resistance

    • When the voluntary muscle in our bodies, skeletal muscle, does not take glucose out of the bloodstream this is called insulin resistance. The job of insulin is to facilitate this collection of glucose. Insulin resistance happens most in skeletal muscle but also in the liver and fatty tissue

    Connection Between Myopia and Blood Sugar

    • Diets high in sugar, which lead to higher blood sugar, produced changes leading to a myopic state in lab rats and rabbits. Studies have also shown myopic patients have more cavities (which are caused by excess sugar) than non-myopic patients.

    Insulin Resistance in Children and Myopia

    • Myopic children have a greater body mass index than non-myopic children. Children on average have high sugar diets which can lead to insulin resistance and obesity. Studies have also shown that starches could cause irregular development of the eyeball leading to myopia.

    Tips

    • Have children avoid a high sugar diet, especially excessive candy consumption and sodas. Most sodas contain high fructose corn syrup which in its usual form elicits a high insulin response causing cells to become more resistant to the insulin.

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