The Role of Bariatric Surgery in the Management of Morbid Childhood Obesity

The global obesity epidemic continues to progress. Overweight and obesity have increasingly been reported in childhood and their prevalence is rising rapidly on a global level. Globally, 22.6–23.8 % of children are now overweight, resulting in enormous health consequences to individuals and society. No other intervention has been able to replicate the degree and maintenance of BMI reduction and comorbidity improvement shown in the adult bariatric surgery literature. Marked improvements have been demonstrated across many organ systems, in particular across the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. An emerging body of evidence describes the effects of adolescent bariatric surgery and is demonstrating impressive replication of adult outcomes and safety. It is likely that the rapid growth of adolescent bariatric surgery will continue. © 2015, Springer Science + Business Media New York.