American Medical Association backs classification of nearsightedness as disease

Re:American Medical Association backs classification of near... by theycallmeritik on Sunday September 13, 2026 @04:01AM (#49681232)

Calling simple myopia a disease feels like a push to get insurance companies to cover basic vision care, but calling half the human population "diseased" seems like standard medicalization creep.

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Re:American Medical Association backs classification of near... by rzmmm on Sunday September 13, 2026 @04:15AM (#49681344)

Almost no myopia in hunter-gatherer populations. I don't view it as "disease" but it's not physiological state either.

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Re:American Medical Association backs classification of near... by Moomoomoo309 on Monday September 14, 2026 @07:58AM (#49695375)

I don't think you'd make it far as a hunter-gatherer if you had physiological myopia. Both of my parents are severely nearsighted (my dad around -4 or -5, my mom is worse than -8), and all of my siblings have myopia. It's definitely genetic too, but for less severe myopia, I think it's our environment.

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