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Bariatric surgery is the most efficient treatment for obesity and associated diseases. Basic knowledge about the indications, common procedures, follow-up and possible complications has become essential for primary care practice. This article explains the current standards of care in Switzerland with a focus on relevant information for the practice: nutritional aspects after bariatric surgery, necessary clinical and laboratory examinations, early detection of complications. Only intense interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration leads to a treatment success in morbid obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of obesity tan be traced back at least 25000 years. In the Stone Age, in the Middle Ages, and in the 17th century overweight indicated prosperty, power, and fertility, but already Hippocrates described obesity as a disease in the Antique. The first academic papers dealing with adiposity were published in the times of the Industrial Revolution. In the 19th century a pharmaceutical treatment boom against overweight emerged- people had to deal with quackery and dangerous remedies like amphetamines that flooded the market. Bariatric surgery was introduced in the 20th century- todays goldstandard is the RYGB operation. Dealing with morbid obesity and its comorbidities is nowadays one of the serious problems in the field of public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a chronic disease with increasing prevalence in western society. Obesity represents a well established risk factor for the development of diabetes mellitus type 2. Several studies on surgical procedures for the treatment of obesity have shown a postoperative reduction of obesity-related co-morbidities. Thus, diabetes mellitus type 2 was shown to resolve or improve in more than 75% of morbidly obese patients (BMI >35) after bariatric surgery. These insights paved the way for the advent of metabolic surgery -- a novel field with the goal to improve glucose metabolism in patients with a BMI of less than 35. Encouraging results from mostly observational studies have sparked the interest in the surgical management of diabetes mellitus type 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]