Poor diet leads teen boy to permanent blindness
BRISTOL, UNITED KINGDOM — A new study found that a teenager in the U.K. went blind after eating nothing but junk food since elementary school.
The unnamed boy got into a habit of only consuming french fries, white bread and Pringles chips, CNN reports. His diet also included slices of processed meats and sausage.
When the boy turned 14, the teen found himself feeling unusually tired and paid a visit to the doctor. He was found to have anemia and low vitamin B12 levels. The doctors gave him some vitamin injections and advice on how to improve his diet.
A year later doctors found signs of hearing and vision loss but they weren't able to link it to his poor diet, because the boy had a normal body mass index and showed no signs of malnutrition, from the outside.
By the time the doctors realized his questionable eating habits had everything to do with his worsening health, it was too late, the teen had become permanently blind — at the age of 17.
According to a press release by the researchers, the boy had developed a case of nutritional optic neuropathy, which is actually reversible if caught at an early stage.
The unnamed boy got into a habit of only consuming french fries, white bread and Pringles chips, CNN reports. His diet also included slices of processed meats and sausage.
When the boy turned 14, the teen found himself feeling unusually tired and paid a visit to the doctor. He was found to have anemia and low vitamin B12 levels. The doctors gave him some vitamin injections and advice on how to improve his diet.
A year later doctors found signs of hearing and vision loss but they weren't able to link it to his poor diet, because the boy had a normal body mass index and showed no signs of malnutrition, from the outside.
By the time the doctors realized his questionable eating habits had everything to do with his worsening health, it was too late, the teen had become permanently blind — at the age of 17.
According to a press release by the researchers, the boy had developed a case of nutritional optic neuropathy, which is actually reversible if caught at an early stage.