Thomas Bächler, Dimitris Papamargaritis, Marco Bueter, Carel W le Roux
Obesity has reached an epidemic dimension composing a serious threat to health systems worldwide. It has been associated with numerous comorbidities including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, arthritis, infertility, eating disorders, unemployment and a reduced quality of life. Bariatric surgery is currently the only effective treatment for severe obesity. Non-surgical treatment modalities include lifestyle changes, diet and/or exercise, with pharmacotherapy and less invasive medical devices. This article therefore aims to discuss the available therapy options including surgical and non-surgical treatments as well as to compare both modalities regarding their clinical effectiveness.
