A 17 year old boy in Bristol, United kingdom has lost his sight after living on a diet of chips and crisps.
This poor eating habit started right after he left primary school as he was avoiding certain textures of food which he could not tolerate, therefore depended on eating french fries, pringles, white bread and occasionally sausages and ham.
He saw his GP at age 14 and was put on supplements but did not stick to them after being diagnosed with deficiency in vitamin B12. Three years later he was taken to Bristol Eye Center because of progressive sight loss.
According to BBC News, Dr Denize Atan who treated him at the hospital rechecked the young man’s vitamin levels and found he was low in B12 as well as some other important vitamins and minerals – copper, selenium and vitamin D.
He was not over or underweight, but was severely malnourished.
“He had lost minerals from his bone, which was really quite shocking for a boy of his age.”
In terms of his sight loss, he met the criteria for being registered blind.
“He had blind spots right in the middle of his vision,” said Dr Atan. “That means he can’t drive and would find it really difficult to read, watch TV or discern faces.
“He can walk around on his own though because he has got peripheral vision.”
Dr. Atan also added that vegans are also at increased risk of B12 deficiency-related sight problems if they do not replace what they can lack when excluding meat from their diet.