Healthy vision plays an important role in our daily lives [1]. However, a seminal study indicated that the globally estimated prevalence of myopia has reached 1.4 billion in 2016 and is predicted to increase to 4.8 billion by 2050 [2]. The earlier onset of myopia is of particular concern, as it has been positively linked to the progression and development of vision-threatening complications (e.g., myopic macular degeneration) (Sankaridurg et al., 2021), and may also lead to an elevated prevalence of psycho-social-behavioral problems (e.g., stress, depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, and social barriers) [[3], [4], [5]]. According to the previous studies, a high prevalence of prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses was observed in children and adolescents. For example, 25.3% of children and adolescents (aged 2–17 years) used prescription eyeglasses and/or contact lenses in the United States (U.S.) [6], 29.2% of adolescents (aged between 14 and 17 years) were prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses in Germany [7], and at least 30% of children (aged between 6 and 7 years) were prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses in the Netherlands [8].

Growing evidence suggests that lifestyle behaviors (e.g., physical activity [PA], sedentary-based screen time [ST] and sleep duration [SL]) can influence myopia. Although they favor a positive influence of specific movement factors, results are not univocal [4,9,10]. For example, a study of school children (aged between 6 and 13 years) found that regular PA reduced the likelihood of being prescribed eyeglasses [11]. Contrastingly, a systematic review indicated that PA is a non-significant risk factor for myopia [10]. The advancement in digital devices and the high amount of ST has also become a common health issues integral to our lives, which, in turn, poses a strong risk for eye health [12,13]. Several studies have provided evidence that ST constitutes a risk factor for eye health and visual impairments (e.g., myopia) [14,15]. Yet, some studies found a weak or absent association between myopia and ST [16,17]. Some studies observed that lower SL is linked to a higher prevalence of myopia [4,18] whereas other studies did not find evidence for such a relationship [4,19]. Overall, the mixed evidence on the effects of movement behaviors on visual impairments (e.g., myopia) necessitates further research to provide more convincing evidence for the relationship between movement behaviors and prescriptions for visual corrections.

In 2016, the Canadian 24-h movement behavior (24-HMB) guidelines to promote healthy development for children and adolescents (Tremblay, Carson, & Chaput, 2016). In particular, the 24-HMB guidelines integrate recommendations for movement behaviors within a 24-h cycle, including recommendations on PA, sedentary behavior (SB, including ST), and SL. Researchers typically consider both independent components (categorical 24-HMB) and combined components (continuous 24-HMB), as 24-h behaviors along the movement continuum (PA, SB and ST) always cluster and interact, such that their combined effects exceed the individual contributions of each behavior (Tremblay, Carson, & Chaput, 2016). As reported, adherence to the 24-HMB guidelines may have important implications for health at all ages and are associated with superior health outcomes (e.g., quality of life) among children and adolescents [20,21].

In this regard, the associations between meeting 24-HMB guidelines and the wearing eyeglasses/contact lenses has yet to be reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate in a nationally representative sample of U.S. children and adolescents aged 6–17 years whether meeting 24-HMB guidelines might influence the risk of being prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses. We hypothesized that (i) that meeting 24-HMB guidelines is associated with a lower risk of being prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses; (ii) older children, girls, and Asian participants would be more likely to be prescribed to wear eyeglass/contact lenses relative to their reference groups.