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safe practices for MBS and medical tourism. These documents serve as examples of IFSO-EC
multidisciplinary and multi-organizational scientific cooperation.

In 2008, EASO launched Obesity Facts: the European Journal of Obesity, which is recognized
separately from IFSO and IFSO-EC’s official journal, Obesity Surgery. These excellent, highly
regarded journals facilitate ongoing dissemination of MBS scientific knowledge among surgical and
non-surgical obesity professionals.
IFSO-EC is composed of national MBS societies across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Member
countries include Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United
Kingdom, and Uzbekistan, along with individual members from several countries without a national
society. IFSO-EC is an integral part of IFSO, acting in alignment with the bylaws of IFSO but with
distinct officers and an Executive Council and assembly structure. As of 2026, IFSO-EC comprises 32
member societies and a total of 3,200 individual members.
The ideas and principles of the founders and participants of the IFSO European Chapter have been
fulfilled and expanded over more than two decades. Shortly after the creation of IFSO-EC in 2004,
other IFSO sub-chapters emulating the EC model were established. In 2026, IFSO-EC is one of five
regional chapters of IFSO that each include numerous individual member nations around the globe.

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