Gerhard Prager takes over presidency of IFSO

Bild: MedUni Wien/Matern Gerhard Prager, Head of the Bariatric Outpatient Clinic at MedUni Vienna's University Department of General Surgery, was elected as the new President of IFSO at the International World Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic disorders (IFSO) in Naples. With over 3,300 participants from 150 countries, the World Congress is the most important event in the world of metabolic and bariatric surgery. Gerhard Prager takes over this important position from Scott Shikora of Stanford and will now guide the fortunes of IFSO. IFSO is the international professional society for metabolic and bariatric surgery, bringing together more than 10,000 members from 72 countries worldwide. The challenges facing healthcare systems in the 21st century are immense, and the obesity epidemic is one of the largest. Obesity affects approximately 700 million people worldwide, and more than 4.7 million people die each year as a result of this disease. Metabolic and bariatric surgery plays a critical role in addressing this global health problem.