The management of obesity: Surgery

Obesity is now our most prevalent disease. Bariatric/Metabolic surgery is one option for achieving and maintaining substantial, durable weight loss. There are several surgical options available, and this chapter outlines the evolution of surgical techniques and describes the current more popular surgical options. Surgical management of obesity began with the introduction of the jejunoileal bypass in the 1950s. While the primary outcome that is typically reported from bariatric surgery is weight loss achieved, it is arguably more important to consider how the weight loss achieved impacts on health and well-being. The chapter provides a summary of the changes in a selection of these comorbidities to illustrate the major health benefits that can be achieved by bariatric surgical procedures. The Swedish Obese Subjects study is of particular importance because of a large number of patients studied, the long follow-up, and the focus on health and survival.