The rate of myopia among the Chinese population is projected to reach 50 percent by 2020, with 70 million people suffering from severe myopia, according to a report released by the School of Public Health at Peking University, Youth.cn reported on May 19.

据中国青年网5月19日报道，北京大学公共卫生学院一份报告显示，等到2020年中国人口近视率将达到50%，7000万人将患严重近视。

Especially of note, children aged between 6 and 10 who have myopia are more likely to suffer from severe myopia in the future. In addition, a whopping 90 percent of college students now have some form of myopia.

特别值得注意的是，6到10岁近视的孩子将来更有可能患上严重近视。此外，目前高达90%的大学生都患有某种形式的近视。

There are at least 10 million people in China with severe myopia, and they are predisposed to getting pathological myopia in middle age. Pathological myopia can’t be treated with glasses or surgery, and it is one of the biggest factors that leads to blindness, Xu Xun, director of the ophthalmology department at Shanghai General Hospital, pointed¹ out.

中国目前至少有1000万人患有严重近视，且到中年时倾向于患上病理性近视。据上海中心医院眼科主任徐璇(音)指出，病理性近视不能用戴眼镜和做手术的方式治好，是导致人们失明的最大原因之一。

Experts explain that the high rate of myopia among Chinese people can be attributed to two principle factors. One is high academic pressure, and the other one is excess use of electronic devices over a long period of time. Genetics, on the other hand, are not the main reason, as only 20 percent of Chinese people had myopia in the 1960s.

专家解释称，导致中国人近视率高的最主要原因可以归结为两个。其一是学业压力大，其二是长期使用电子设备。另一方面，基因并不是导致近视的主因，因为在上世纪60年代的时候中国近视率还只有20%。

“Teenagers are now faced with severe academic pressure, which means they often study without natural light. This increases their risk of becoming nearsighted,” Xu said.

徐璇说道：“青少年现在面临着繁重的学业压力，这就意味着他们经常要在没有自然光的情况下学习，而这大大增加了近视的风险。”

Although authorities have issued documents urging relevant agencies to take action against the growing problem, it is the students themselves, along with their parents, who must change their behavior to fix the problem.

虽然政府已经发布文件，敦促有关机构采取措施应对日益严重的问题，但是真正必须改变自己的行为来解决这个问题的人是学生自己和他们的父母。