The surgical management of obesity remains a challenge for healthcare providers. Several techniques have been developed over the last several decades. The evolution of bariatric surgery has helped guide clinicians to understand the contributions that impact obesity such as nutrition, malabsorption, and restriction. There are three main types of bariatric surgery: malabsorptive, restrictive, and metabolic/hormonal. The popularity of each bariatric surgery technique for weight loss has changed depending on the post-operative success and complications related to each procedure. It is important to understand the anatomy and rationale for the different types of bariatric surgery.