Overview

• New BMJ Global Health commentaries confirm that bariatric tourism is rising despite the wider availability of weight-loss drugs and warn of unregulated safety gaps
• NHS waiting lists often exceed two years and private surgery in the UK costs £10,000–15,000, compared with £2,500–4,500 packages in countries such as Turkey
• Foreign Office data show at least 28 British nationals died between 2019 and March 2024 from complications following elective procedures abroad
• Many overseas providers lack transparent reporting on complication rates and fail to offer preoperative assessments or long-term multidisciplinary follow-up
• UK specialists are calling for an international accreditation process and a transnational regulatory forum involving bodies like WHO, WTO and the EU