[Endoscopic treatment of obesity]

Obesity is highly prevalent in many developed and developing countries and is on the increase. The range of obese patients suitable for endoscopic treatment may be very broad. The most widely applied treatment in Spain and elsewhere in Europe is the Allergan intragastric balloon. The effectiveness of this technique is good in the short-term but suboptimal in the long term and its safety profile is high. However, severe complications may occur and consequently the indication and implantation of this technique should not be trivialized. In addition, there are distinct endoscopic devices that help patients lose weight, through distinct mechanisms of action, but these devices are currently under technological development and awaiting scientific validation. It is too soon to recommend these techniques and they should only be evaluated in the context of clinical trials.