Specialists say children have gone blind to malnutrition

Checkpoint · May 1, 2026 · 4m

A parent of a teenager who eats only plain foods including bread, crackers and pasta says it's terrifying to learn such restrictive diets can cause permanent vision loss. It follows two eye specialist's warning that there are children in Aotearoa who have gone blind due to malnutrition. Local researchers are now gathering data on children's eye-health to better understand the problem. Amy Williams filed this report.