Exercise and light drinking help to protect vision

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin evaluated the influence that smoking, drinking alcohol and exercise have on vision by tracking medical records of almost 5,000 adults ranging in age from 43 to 84 between 1988 and 2013. Results were published in Ophthalmology online. While the research team noted that visual impairment developed in 5.4 percent of the study population, they also saw that those who exercised at least three times a week were 58 percent less likely to experience vision loss than their sedentary counterparts. In addition, those who had one alcoholic drink a week were almost half as likely to develop vision problems compared to non-drinkers. On the other end of the spectrum, heavy drinkers and smokers were more likely to develop vision problems than those who never drank or smoked. While vision loss due to aging cannot be prevented, lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption and exercise can be modified to reduce the chance of vision loss.*