The term bariatric surgery collectively describes the surgical procedures intended to induce weight loss directly, and which are used in the management of obesity and its comorbidities.
Bariatric procedures can prove highly clinically effective, and also cost-effective, and may achieve long-term sustained weight loss and consequent improvement in health and global risk. The surgical management of obesity is a crucial, and increasingly prevalent facet of weight management, and in many people is the only effective method by which a sufficient quantity of weight can be shed,  for such people it is a vital  method of improving health and quality of life. The latest advances in surgical techniques have produced safer, more effective and more cost-effective operations.