Bad Hygiene Etiquette Makes Gym a Hot Bed for Infections

There are plenty of reasons why going to the gym can benefit your wellbeing. While you can be put off going for a run out of sheer laziness or poor weather conditions, your gym membership means that you can work out without the fear of pouring rain, and those membership fees give you a real financial incentive to get up and go! However, it turns out that it may be better for your wellness if you stay at home, as going to the gym could make you ill. This is according to a new survey by Nuffield Health, which blames fitness fans’ poor hygiene for spreading illness at the gym.

The survey of 2,000 people found that almost three-quarters (74%) of those polled had witnessed “bad fitness etiquette” in the gym. This included poor hygiene, such as failing to clean sweaty equipment, which is concerning considering that nearly half of the survey respondents reported that they had used something in the gym that did not belong to them, like towels, water bottles or toiletries. 22% of people were put off exercise by poor hygiene or excessive nudity in changing rooms, while 18% admitted that they went to the gym when suffering from colds, coughing and sneezing.

According to Nuffield Health, this kind of behaviour could leave you open to catching colds and flu from other gym users, as well as fungal infections like athletes foot. Sarah Marsh, the firm’s professional head of fitness and wellbeing, commented, ‘Yes, it’s unpleasant when the person before you hasn’t wiped their sweat off the machine they’ve been using, but the health implications of this and the other hygiene issues our study revealed can be more wide ranging than this. We encounter disease-causing germs every day, although generally few of us become ill.’

She continued, ‘We know these germs may easily be spread by unwashed hands – through direct contact with someone or indirectly through touching contaminated objects – so as the temperature dips outside, there are many more bugs around and our immune systems are challenged by the ‘flu seasons’ arrival – not wiping down gym equipment can help germs spread. These germs can cause not only vomiting and diarrhoea but also respiratory infections.’

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