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Seen as the one of the last conversation taboos, adult incontinence is a growing issue.

In the UK, manufacturers believe that adult incontinence products will soon sell more than ones to deal with menstruation.

The days of incontinence products being hidden on the bottom shelf seem numbered.

Around the world, that transition seems already to have taken place. Adult nappies are outselling nappies for babies in Japan, analysts at Pew Research Center believe.

Incontinence is a common problem among the elderly population and, with the average age of populations across the world increasing, the Japanese market is leading the way.

In Japan, people aged 65-and-over account for around a quarter of the overall population, increasing from 17.4% in 2000.

And the population is not getting younger - Japan’s median age will be 53 by 2050 and the birth-rate per woman is still below two.

(Image: Google)

The same thing could quite easily happen in the UK - 23% of the population in the UK will be 65-or-over by 2030, the ONS predicts, and the UK’s birth rate per woman has been below two since 1974.

Over half of people above 70 and over a third of people between 50 and 69 years old have adult incontinence.

Health care professional Dr Sarah Jarvis says that it is the most embarrassing thing for women to shop for, ahead of condoms.

What is seen by some as an embarrassment or something to be ashamed of is becoming more acceptable in Japan and is seen as a huge business opportunity.

Sales of adult nappies in Japan, according to analysts Euromonitor, are projected to rise 25% again before 2017 and the industry of adult “incontinence products” already reported Y140 billion (£760m) a year revenues in 2012.

(Image: Publicity pictures)

Two Japanese paper companies – Daio and Nippon Paper – have reportedly expanded their manufacturing facilities for paper forms of these products.

In the UK, adult nappies typically sell for around 50p each, rather than the 12p for the children’s version.

And in the UK, things are beginning to happen:

Procter and Gamble - the parent company of brands like Pampers - has launched a new product aimed at adult incontinence called Always Discreet.

With Japan representing a wider global trend, a burgeoning adult nappy industry in the UK might not be far away.