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Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic condition in which stomach acid repeatedly flows back into the esophagus, the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. Occasional heartburn after a heavy meal is common, but reflux that happens two or more times a week usually points to GERD.

While medications and diet changes help many people, for patients who carry excess weight, those measures can fall short because they leave one of the main drivers of reflux in place. Weight loss can reduce GERD symptoms substantially and sometimes resolve them. How much it helps depends on how much weight you lose, where that weight sits on your body, and whether a structural problem is also involved.