The Role of Soccer in Slowing the Decline of Visual Function Caused by Aging: a Study of Young and Middle-aged Subjects

The general decline of visual function is one of the many physical changes that occur as a result of the aging process. This study was conducted to identify the effects that daily soccer activity has on the following eight visual functions: static visual acuity (SVA), kinetic visual acuity (KVA), dynamic visual acuity (DVA), contrast sensitivity (CS), depth perception (DP), ocular motor skill (OMS), visual reaction time (VRT), and eye/hand coordination (E/H). Young and middle-aged subjects were examined in this study. Two findings were confirmed. First, decrease in KVA, DVA, VRT and E/H with age was observed. Next, results suggest that soccer blunted the decrease with age or improved the function of DVA and OMS. Future studies should include the effect of innate ability on the visual function and use longitudinal study methods to more precisely clarify the effects of daily soccer activity on visual function.