Introduction/Description:
Obesity is a major health problem and is the second most common preventable cause of death (after smoking) in the United States. Obesity is associated with a multitude of medical comorbidities that affect almost every human system and has been strongly associated with an increased incidence of diabetes, as well as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Diets and exercise programs are considered the pillars for the treatment of obesity, but long-term studies have failed to show a sustained weight loss for the vast majority of patients. Currently, bariatric surgery procedures appear to be the only modality that results in sustained weight loss along with reversal of these comorbidities.