A brief history of bariatric surgery

Obesity has been a problem since medieval times, but only in the latter 20 years it has been recognized as a worldwide epidemic. Treating obesity is challenging and difficult, but surgery has led to an increased success and novel insights on the pathophysiology of obesity. Several surgical techniques have been developed during the last 50 years and the advent of laparoscopic surgery has increased its safety, efficacy and demand from the population. Nowadays, the ever increasing and successful use of novel techniques have been responsible for several changes in the established treatment paradigms.