What causes short sightedness?
Short sightedness is caused by the shape of the eye, meaning its length and the curvature of the cornea, and it develops from a combination of inherited tendency and environmental factors such as time spent on close work.
- Subject
- Vision problems
- Topic
- Myopia (short sightedness)
- Kind of question
- What causes…
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
The contribution of environment is why the conversation about children now includes outdoor time and near-work habits, which is a change from treating short sightedness as purely genetic.
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Vision problems & prescriptions in Myopia (short sightedness) . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
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- Condition Myopia (short sightedness)
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Eye Health Information
Condition-by-condition eye health information from a US government research institute, written for patients rather than for clinicians.
Used for Plain-language explanations of eye conditions and their symptoms; Healthy vision and screening guidance.
Link checked 23 September 2026
- Cochrane Library
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Useful for readers who want to know how strong the pooled evidence is, not just what one trial found.
Used for Helping readers judge the strength of the evidence base.
Link checked 22 September 2026