Obesity is simply defined as "excessive amount of body fat" and should be considered a chronic disease, as it has definite mortality and morbidity. The most widely accepted measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI) which equals patient weight in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters. Morbid obesity is having a BMI greater than 40 kg/m2 or a BMI greater than 35 kg/m2 with concomitant obesity-related morbidity. The incidence of obesity is steadily rising. Morbid obesity is associated with a large number of problems. Several of these problems are underlying causes for the earlier mortality associated with obesity and include; coronary artery disease, hypertension, impaired cardiac function, adult onset type 2 diabetes mellitus, venous stasis and hypercoagulability leading to an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, increased risk of uterine, breast and colon cancer. Adjuvant pharmacologic treatments should be considered for patients with a BMI >30 kg/m2 or with a BMI >27 kg/m2 who also have concomitant obesity-related diseases and for whom dietary and physical activity therapy has not been successful.