Overview of obesity.

The purpose of this article is to provide a succinct overview of obesity. It will be useful to highlight some of the epidemiological issues associated with this disease. Obesity is intertwined between public health issues, increased risk of morbidity and mortality, rising health care costs and expensive treatment options, social stigma, and internal psychological challenges--clearly no easy answers as to how to treat this health dilemma. Even with all of the challenges, bariatric surgery certainly offers a viable option for patients to get their health back, and more important, their lives back.