The Efficacy of Weight Loss Surgery: Insights from the Patients.

Obesity is a growing epidemic worldwide and South Africa is not exempt from it. People lose weight using various methods and one of these is weight loss surgery. Weight loss surgery, which is also known as bariatric surgery, is a fairly recent phenomenon in South Africa. The procedure started in South Africa around the mid ‘90s and it has slowly, but steadily, received more attention over the years; this is reflected in the increased number of obese people who resort to the procedure. The research question upon which this study is anchored is “Is weight loss surgery effective in combating obesity?” The narratives of this study’s participants, who are people that have undergone the procedure, will serve as framework to answer the research question of this study.