This news item is about: For decades, bariatric surgery has been one of the most effective long-term treatments for obesity. This has made bariatric surgery an increasingly popular procedure, with over 200,000 patients undergoing this surgery per year in the U.S. However, it is not without its risks. There have been conflicting reports on the effect of bariatric surgery on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including colitis and Crohn’s disease, with some recent reports suggesting that bariatric surgery increases the risk of IBD.