Effective weight management is critical to reducing the health burdens associated with obesity. Evidence suggests that weight loss of 5–10% is associated with improvements in hypertension, dyslipidaemia and hyperglycaemia, and reduced symptoms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and polycystic ovary syndrome. Greater weight loss is associated with greater health benefits with weight loss of >15% needed for remission of type 2 diabetes.

Lifestyle interventions, such as dietary modifications, increased physical activity, and behavioural modifications, are fundamental to all weight management plans. However, weight loss achieved by lifestyle modification alone is often neither significant nor sustainable enough to induce or maintain the health benefits associated with weight loss. Increasingly, anti-obesity medications are beginning to bridge the treatment gap between lifestyle modifications and bariatric surgery, and may achieve weight loss of up to 15% when combined with lifestyle treatment. However, bariatric surgery remains the most effective option for reducing weight and inducing remission of obesity-related diseases.