Impact of commissioning weight-loss surgery for bariatric patients.

Obesity is a major UK public health issue that is increasingly costly to an individual's personal health, the NHS and society. It requires an immediate intervention, as well as a long-term strategy to decrease the rising rates of obesity. NHS England (2013) has published a policy to commission bariatric surgery for carefully selected individuals according to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines (NICE, 2006).