{"id":4229,"date":"2025-04-16T06:55:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T06:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=4229"},"modified":"2025-04-16T07:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T07:25:06","slug":"better-vision-better-ageing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/retirement\/better-vision-better-ageing\/","title":{"rendered":"Better vision = better ageing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"4229\" class=\"elementor elementor-4229\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2730fa2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2730fa2\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-16493f2\" data-id=\"16493f2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5622eb9 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5622eb9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Good eye health is about more than just seeing clearly \u2013 it\u2019s essential for staying active, independent, and socially connected as we age.<\/p><p>Yet many older Australians are living with poor eyesight, unaware that most age-related vision issues are preventable or treatable. Untreated vision problems don\u2019t just affect how we see the world \u2013they can increase the risk of falls, isolation, and even dementia.<\/p><p>\u201cVision loss should not be seen as an inevitable part of ageing,\u201d says Professor Lisa Keay, a leading vision and eye health researcher at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unsw.edu.au\/research\/unsw-ageing-futures\">UNSW Ageing Futures Institute<\/a>.<\/p><p>\u201cWhen people maintain good eye health, they\u2019re more likely to stay independent, socially engaged, and avoid injuries.\u201d<\/p><p><strong>Time for a national focus on eye health<\/strong><\/p><p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.lww.com\/optvissci\/fulltext\/2025\/02000\/vision,_eye_health,_and_the_100_year_life.2.aspx\">recent article<\/a> for the <em>Journal of the American Academy of Optometry<\/em>, Professor Keay called for eye care to be made a national health priority, right alongside heart health and diabetes prevention.<\/p><p>\u201cWe need to embed regular eye checks into routine healthcare,\u201d she says.<\/p><p>\u201cEarly detection and treatment of eye conditions can prevent avoidable disability and even boost productivity in our ageing society.\u201d<\/p><p>With Australia\u2019s population rapidly ageing, now is the time to include eye health in our broader strategy for healthy ageing.<\/p><p><strong>Top tips for healthy eyes at any age<\/strong><\/p><ol><li><strong> Eat for your eyes<\/strong><br \/>Fill your plate with colourful fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens like spinach, kale, and silverbeet. Oily fish such as salmon and tuna are also great for eye health.<\/li><li><strong> Stay active<\/strong><br \/>Keeping a healthy weight can lower your risk of conditions like diabetes, which is a major cause of vision loss.<\/li><li><strong> Notice changes<\/strong><br \/>Blurry vision? Squinting? Trouble seeing clearly? Don\u2019t wait \u2013 book an eye test with your doctor or optometrist.<\/li><li><strong> Wear your glasses or lenses<\/strong><br \/>If you\u2019ve been prescribed eyewear, use it. It\u2019s not just about seeing better \u2013 it\u2019s about staying safe and reducing eye strain.<\/li><li><strong> Practice good hygiene<\/strong><br \/>Always wash your hands before touching your eyes, especially if you wear contact lenses.<\/li><li><strong> Use protective eyewear<\/strong><br \/>Gardening? DIY? Cleaning with chemicals? Pop on some safety glasses \u2013 most eye injuries are preventable with the right gear.<\/li><\/ol><p>Good vision supports good living. Let\u2019s make healthy eyesight a part of every Australian\u2019s ageing journey.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good eye health is about more than just seeing clearly \u2013 it\u2019s essential for staying active, independent, and socially connected as we age. Yet many older Australians are living with poor eyesight, unaware that most age-related vision issues are preventable or treatable. Untreated vision problems&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4229"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4278,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229\/revisions\/4278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}