SALES of laxatives have risen - partly due to their use as a weight-loss product, according to a report out today.

Market analysts Mintel said sales of the product rose by 33% over the last five years to hit £52m. Mintel predicted sales would grow by a further 50% over the next five years.

Other stomach-settling remedies have also seen an increase in sales.

Mintel senior market analyst David Bird said: "This market has seen substantial growth as a result of the British public's increasingly dysfunctional relationship with food and diet."

The public's growing taste for spicy foods and high-fat takeaway meals has also increased the need for such remedies, the report added.

It found that indigestion and heartburn medicines make up 50% of the total gastro-intestinal remedies market, with sales of £122.3m.