The new report conducted by Australia's Food Safety Information Council surveyed 1,229 Aussies aged 18 years and over on their hand washing practices.
The results revealed that almost 19% of Australians don’t wash their hands after using the toilet, and almost half of the people, about 42%, admitted they don’t wash their hands every time they handle food.
Dr Christine Carson, a senior research fellow at the University of Western Australia, wrote for The Conversation, explaining: “You may not get sick yourself, but you're increasing the spread of bacteria.”
“This can increase the risk of infection and illness for other people, including those with compromised immune systems such as older people and those undergoing common forms of treatment for cancer.”
The report also reveals that gender and age play a significant role in how Aussies approach their hand washing practices.
Women were more likely than men to wash their hands after going to the toilet, but not by much, with the statistics showing it was 83 per cent of women versus 80 per cent of men.
When it comes to food handling, there is a more significant divide, with 55 per cent of men washing their hands before handling food, compared to 62 per cent of women.
The report also revealed that younger generations were significantly worse at washing their hands than older generations.
Just 69 per cent of Aussies under the age of 34 said that they always wash their hands after going to the toilet, compared to 86 per cent of those aged 65 or older.
Speaking on why younger generations seem less interested in washing their hands, Dr Christine Carson spoke of a study out of India that questioned school children about “barriers to hand washing”.
Dr Carson concluded that 91 per cent of these young participants had low “illness threat perception”.
“In other words, they simply didn’t perceive a risk of getting sick from not washing their hands after going to the toilet.
“Interestingly, the inability to see germs with their own eyes was one of the biggest barriers, cited by 46% of the children.”
