Wegovy at BMI 30: who qualifies and what the licence actually says

You're at BMI 30, here's where the eligibility conversation usually starts

Picture this: you've checked your BMI, it's come back at 30.0 or just above, and you're wondering whether that's enough to be considered for Wegovy. The short answer is yes, in licensing terms it is. The Wegovy SmPC (the document that governs how the medicine is authorised in the UK) sets the lower boundary at a BMI of 30. You don't need a diagnosed comorbidity at that threshold. The 27–29.9 range is where an additional condition (high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, and so on) becomes the deciding factor. At 30, the BMI itself carries the eligibility.

That said, reaching the threshold isn't the same as being approved. A prescriber will look at your full health picture: your medical history, any medicines you already take, conditions that might make semaglutide unsuitable, and whether the potential benefit genuinely outweighs any risk for you specifically. The full eligibility criteria for Wegovy cover more ground than a single number.

One practical note: BMI is calculated from the height and weight you declare, and at nume that weight is verified on a live video call, not taken on trust. It protects you and it's one of the things that makes a clinical assessment meaningful rather than cursory.

How the NHS eligibility criteria differ from the private licensed threshold

There's a gap worth knowing about. The licensed threshold (BMI 30+) is what governs private prescription routes. The NHS operates under NICE guidance, which sets a higher bar for publicly funded treatment. NICE's appraisal of semaglutide (TA875) recommends it for use within specialist weight management services, for adults with a BMI of 35 or above and at least one weight-related comorbidity, with the usual 2.5 kg/m² ethnic-background adjustment bringing that to around 32.5 for some groups. At BMI 30, you almost certainly won't qualify for Wegovy on the NHS under current criteria, even if you meet the licensed threshold for private treatment.

NHS waiting lists for specialist services are also long in most areas. For people who meet the clinical criteria for private treatment but don't meet NHS thresholds, or who'd rather not wait, a regulated private pharmacy is the alternative. You can find out more about how Wegovy is priced privately if you're weighing up your options. What matters most is that whichever route you take, the prescriber who reviews your case is real, qualified and accountable, not a form that approves you automatically.

What about BMI just under 30, or slightly above?

If your BMI is 29 or 28, the picture shifts. A reading of BMI 28 puts you in the 27–29.9 bracket, where Wegovy's licence requires at least one weight-related condition alongside it. High blood pressure, raised cholesterol, prediabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea and type 2 diabetes are all examples that could qualify you. Without one of those, the licensed threshold isn't met. There's a fuller look at Wegovy eligibility when BMI is under 30 if that's where you are.

At the other end, a BMI a point or two above 30 doesn't change the clinical picture dramatically, you meet the threshold either way. What changes as BMI rises is often the clinical urgency and the number of comorbidities involved, which can shape the prescriber's assessment of how much benefit treatment is likely to offer. The BMI range at which Wegovy is considered is a broader topic than any single cut-off.

If you're not certain where your BMI actually sits, the NHS BMI calculator is a reliable starting point before you go any further.

Starting a private consultation when you're at the eligibility boundary

Sitting right at a threshold can feel uncertain, you're not comfortably inside it, and you might worry a prescriber will turn you away for a reason you haven't anticipated. That's a fair concern, and it's exactly what a proper clinical assessment is for. At nume, a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber reads every consultation the same day it arrives. Not a triage algorithm, not a scoring tool, a named clinician who can see the nuance in your answers.

If you order before midday on a working day and your consultation is approved, your treatment is dispatched the same day and arrives with DPD the next working morning, in plain packaging. If you don't qualify, you'll hear that clearly too, with a note on why. You can explore all the weight-loss treatment options we offer, or go straight to check your eligibility with a free consultation, there's no obligation and no fee unless treatment is prescribed.