Two-thirds of eyecare professionals in the U.S. say the incidence of myopia among children in their practices has increased over the past 5 to 10 years and 81 percent of those practitioners recognize it as one of the biggest problems impacting children’s eyesight today, according to a 2019 study published in the American Academy of Optometry’s journal, Optometry and Vision Science. The study was recently cited by CooperVision when it announced Sarah Michelle Gellar, the popular US television actress, producer, and entrepreneur as the spokesperson for its Brilliant Futures Myopia Management Program. Brilliant Futures is built around MiSight 1 day, the FDA-approved soft contact lens from CooperVision that slows the progression of myopia in children ages 8 to 12 at the initiation of treatment, according to the 2019 study.

More than 40 percent of Americans have myopia, commonly referred to as nearsightedness, and that number is increasing at an alarming rate, especially among school-aged children, a 2016 study by the Brien Holden Vision Institute shows.

The accompanying CooperVision infographic from may help ECPs discuss myopia management with patients.