Bariatric surgery is the most effective tool for the treatment of obesity. Obesity is a chronic illness of excessive body fat and occurs when a person's BMI, or Body Mass Index (a ratio of a person's weight over their height), exceeds 30 kg/m2. People who suffer from obesity typically have been suffering for many years. Obesity increases your risk of developing several serious medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease (including as heart disease), sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and many others.

There is no cure for obesity. However, there are many treatments available to help control obesity. Some treatment options include medications to help control appetite (medical weight loss), structured diet and exercise regimens with the help of dieticians and personal trainers, endoscopic therapies for weight loss (such as intragastric balloons, and endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty), and bariatric surgical procedures (including sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and duodenal switch, to name a few).