1 in 5 young women admit to taking laxatives to try to lose weight. But are laxatives really a quick and easy way to get slim?

Laxatives work by tricking your body into thinking it needs to go to the loo when really it doesn’t. Misguided slimmers use laxatives to purge their bodies of food before any fat or sugar can be absorbed, allowing them to eat and stay slim at the same time. But does it really work?

No, say doctors. Medics reckon laxatives don’t stop you absorbing sugars and fats because that happens in the small intestine whereas laxatives only affect the large intestine. They claim that laxatives make you lose a lot of water. They make you feel like you’ve lost weight, when really you haven’t.

Nutritionists have also slammed laxative abuse. They say that whilst you still absorb all the fat and sugar in your diet you miss out on essential vitamins and minerals that are absorbed later in your digestive system.

Laxative use has even been linked to potassium deficiency which can lead to heart attacks in later life. Scary huh?

Not only that, laxatives can cause stomach pains, constipation and a lot of embarrassing trips to the loo. Yuck!

In the hunt for quick, easy ways to maintain a healthy weight, laxative use is just another red herring. And a dangerous, unhealthy one at that! In reality there is only one quick fix – eat sensibly and live an active life with plenty of exercise.