The number of people with myopia has increased dramatically in recent years in various regions of the world.

For example, in many cities in China more than 90% of university students are living with myopia. In pure numbers, this is one of the largest epidemics humanity has even seen, far greater than the obesity epidemic.

The myopia boom was first noted in the 1980s in the cities of East Asian countries such as Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. The cities of China followed soon afterwards, and a similar trend is being noted in Europe.

For most people, myopia is merely an inconvenience requiring correction with glasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery.