Obesity is associated with significant increases in morbidity and mortality secondary, in part, to the increased burden of cardiovascular and renal diseases. Currently, bariatric surgery represents an important component of intensive approaches to the treatment of chronic and complex obesity. The efficacy of bariatric surgery extends beyond its ability to support significant and sustainable reductions in bodyweight to improvements in metabolic and cardiovascular health which are proposed to occur, in part, via weight loss-independent physiological changes. This report summarises the concept of cardiovascular and renal diseases as important constituent aspects of obese morbidity that contribute to overall impairments in health and lifespan. It furthermore describes the key features of bariatric surgical interventions, the evidence base for their beneficial effect on cardiovascular and renal diseases, and lastly provides some perspectives on the mechanisms involved.