This is a cross sectional and prospective cohort study on obese patients scheduled for elective bariatric surgery aimed at:

1. Evaluating the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms in obese patients scheduled for bariatric srugery (primary outcome)

2. Correlating GERD symptom association with endoscopic findings on esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) routinely performed prior to bariatric surgery (primary outcome)

3. Prospectively evaluating the prevalence of GERD in the study cohort 6 months after undergoing bariatric surgery (primary outcome)

4. Correlating diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic vs. laparoscopic classification of the presence or absence of hiatal hernias (secondary outcome)

This study recruited candidates for bariatric surgery during their routine outpatient scheduled EGD procedures in the Endoscopy unit of the American University of Beirut Medical Center after their referral from their bariatric surgeon.

Patients presenting to the Endoscopy unit at the American University of Beirut Medical Center for routine outpatient EGD prior to elective bariatric surgery where consecutively enrolled in the study after screening for appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria, with a total aim of enrolling 150 patients beginning from October 2015.