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Tam Fry has been gazing into his political crystal ball in this issue of the British Journal of Obesity, predicting that David Cameron himself might become the next Obesity Czar in order to safeguard the “health of millions of children and the financial sustainability of the health service” (see page 46). Tam’s message is a mixture of optimism, pessimism and, most importantly, hope; the pantomime villains are unmasked, the possible heroes cheered on and a putative blueprint for successful obesity management for this and future generations drawn up. It is slightly depressing that the motivation for action is likely to be avoidance of the political embarrassment of a bankrupt NHS and safeguarding jobs for the boys in Westminster, rather than improving the nation’s health and reducing health inequalities, but any motivation is better than none. Not everyone with any power is so cynical; Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England’s Czar for obesity, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, is a talented clinician – and likeable character – who wants the best for his patients, but he, like the rest of us, will jump on any bandwagon that results in money and resources being released to fight obesity.

A recent report from the EarlyBird Study appeared under the rather less prosaic title of “Childhood obesity: evidence for distinct early and late environmental determinants” (Mostazir et al, 2015). The findings suggested that two distinct factors were responsible for excess weight gain in different sectors of the childhood population at different ages. The successful prevention of childhood obesity requires understanding the cause, and this new research implies that fundamentally different strategies may be needed at different stages of childhood.

In 2013, more than 62% of adults in the UK and Ireland were classed as overweight or obese (Public Health England, 2015). Behaviour change has become accepted as a necessary component in the management of weight loss (Cavill and Ells, 2010). This was further confirmed by a British Psychological Society (2011) report, which suggested that psychological issues can be linked to the causes and consequences of obesity, and that psychological techniques and therapies should be incorporated into weight management healthy weight. Stewart et al (2010) suggested that up to 30% of people who undergo bariatric surgery begin to regain weight after 2 years, as a result of binge eating, emotional eating, triggers, strategies and/or their environment. The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death revealed that only 29% of bariatric surgery patients in the UK received any psychological input before or after surgery to address these issues (Martin et al, 2012).

The British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) recently published the first UK guidelines on perioperative and postoperative biochemical monitoring and micronutrition replacement for people undergoing bariatric surgery. In doing so, BOMSS aimed to provide guidance for safe practice and to reduce the variation in monitoring and prescribing between different units in the UK. In this article, we review these guidelines and provide a helpful summary for all healthcare professionals involved in the care of people who undergo bariatric surgery.

There is a growing cohort of people undergoing bariatric surgery, and these patients require lifelong follow-up. Recent NICE guidelines recommend a shared care model for the long-term management of these individuals; therefore, GPs need guidance on how to appropriately monitor and manage them. Following a review of the current literature and discussions with experts in the field, guidance has been developed that will aid clinicians in providing high-quality shared care alongside Tier 3 or 4 specialist teams. Areas discussed include monitoring long-term associated conditions, potential nutritional deficiencies, nutritional supplements, changes to medications post-surgery, post-surgery contraception advice and criteria for re-referral to specialist services.

The medical model of weight loss and maintenance often treats overweight and obesity as a logical, rational process that requires only knowledge, education and motivation for success. In this article, the often overlooked role of emotions in weight management is discussed. A new psychological self-help tool, which equips people with the emotional tools and skills required as a foundation to implement weight loss advice, is described, and the role of the clinical psychologist in weight loss initiatives is discussed.

As our understanding of the causative factors and consequences of obesity increases, healthcare professionals and policy makers are faced with an ever-expanding amount of data that can appear overwhelming in the search for effective solutions to this global crisis. New ways to incorporate these developments and allow us to see the relationships between the findings are required. This article outlines the College of Contemporary Health’s Obesity DebateGraph, a new, free-to-use, online tool that can help to unravel the complexity of the obesity space, collaborate and share ideas, and better understand the ways to tackle the obesity pandemic.

By the time you get to this page, David Cameron may have unexpectedly announced that he, personally, is to lead the UK’s fight against obesity, and childhood obesity in particular. The promise that his Government, if elected, would address the problem emerged in the run-up to the May election, but without any hint that he might make obesity his “mission”. The scuttlebutt around Westminster at the end of June was that a surprise announcement would be made before Parliament’s recess – or earlier – but one never knows with Westminster.

In this regular section, Matt Capehorn picks out recent key papers published in the area of obesity. To compile the digest, a PubMed search was performed for the 3 months ending April 2015 using a range of search terms relating to obesity. Articles have been chosen on the basis of their potential interest to healthcare professionals and are rated according to readability, applicability to practice and originality.