Being overweight is a "big issue" when it comes to female incontinence, an expert has revealed.

Mark Slack, head of urogynaecology at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, spoke about the issue of urinary incontinence during an interview with presenter Jenni Murray on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour last week (September 15th).

Mr Slack explained that there are a number of scientific reasons for the link between being overweight and suffering from incontinence.

He revealed: "If a person who is overweight loses ten per cent of their weight, they'll get a 50 per cent improvement in their symptoms."

The expert also revealed that caffeine can be a problem for women with an overactive bladder.

"Caffeine is not a good thing if you have an overactive bladder, because it definitely stimulates the bladder to be more overactive," he explained.

This could be a major issue in the UK, where approximately 70 million cups of coffee are consumed each day, according to the British Coffee Association.

Mr Slack noted that while the majority of cases of stress incontinence are due to childbirth, the causes of overactive bladder are largely not known.