What Does It Mean to Be Visually Impaired? Visual impairment describes any vision loss. A spectrum of visual impairments affects millions in the U.S. At one end are refractive errors, like nearsightedness or farsightedness. At the other end is blindness. Low vision falls in the middle. It’s often caused by age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. The condition is most common in adults over 45. Low vision can include: Loss of peripheral vision Night blindness Blurry vision Blind spots Hazy vision Fitness, Disabilities, and Visual Impairments People with disabilities like visual impairments are less likely to be physically active. People with disabilities have a 50% greater risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease due to inactivity. Many barriers prevent people with vision impairments from exercising. Sometimes, the barrier is that they aren’t taught to be physically active as a child and are instead omitted from physical activities because of thei...