Obesity is becoming a major health issue, and is putting significant pressure on NHS resources and the economy through direct medical and social care costs. Significant attempts to address obesity through life- style modification and pharmacological therapy has had little effect in addressing the problem. Since the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines in 2002, there has been an exponential growth in the number of people having bariatric surgery as a weight management treatment. In this article, Daniel Apau and Nicola Whiteing look at the prevalence of obesity and the types of bariatric surgery available as well as the nursing considerations before and after this procedure.