What BMI cutoff applies to Wegovy in the UK?

What does the licensed BMI cutoff of 30 actually mean?

The 30 threshold reflects the World Health Organization's clinical definition of obesity, a BMI at which excess weight is associated with measurable increases in health risk. Wegovy's UK licence sets this as the baseline because that is the population studied in the STEP clinical trials, and the point at which the benefit-to-risk profile supports prescribing for weight management.

For context, a BMI of 30 for someone who is 5 ft 6 in tall corresponds to roughly 85 kg. You can calculate your own figure using the NHS BMI calculator, which also flags when thresholds differ by ethnic background. The number itself is just arithmetic, what matters clinically is what sits behind it. Two people with identical BMIs may have very different cardiovascular risk profiles, and a prescriber takes both into account.

If your BMI sits between 27 and 29.9, the licence still applies, provided you have a qualifying condition. The weight-related conditions most commonly cited include hypertension, dyslipidaemia (raised cholesterol or triglycerides), type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and obstructive sleep apnoea. Osteoarthritis also appears in UK clinical guidance as a relevant condition. A single confirmed diagnosis is enough to bring the lower threshold into play. Details of what qualifies are worth discussing with a prescriber, because the list is broader than many people expect.

If you want to understand more about how BMI is calculated for Wegovy eligibility, that page covers the method in full.

Do the cutoffs change depending on how Wegovy is accessed, NHS versus private?

Yes, and the difference is significant. On the NHS, Wegovy is available only through specialist weight management services, and NICE's TA875 recommendation adds conditions beyond the licence alone. NHS patients generally need a BMI of 35 or above (or 32.5 for some ethnic backgrounds) plus at least one weight-related comorbidity, and treatment must be delivered alongside multidisciplinary support as part of a specialist programme. Waiting lists for those services can be long.

Private prescribing follows the medicine's own licensed indication rather than the NHS commissioning criteria. That means the 30 (or 27-with-comorbidity) thresholds apply directly, without the additional NHS layers. This is the route that most people using an online pharmacy such as our service will take. The clinical standards remain exactly the same (a prescriber still reviews your health, verifies your weight and assesses contraindications) but the access criteria align with what the medicine is licensed for, not what a stretched NHS can prioritise right now.

For a full breakdown of what Wegovy costs through a private route, the Wegovy cost page sets out what a legitimate private price typically includes.

What if my BMI is just below the cutoff, is there any flexibility?

The short answer is: the published thresholds are thresholds. A BMI of 26.8 without a qualifying condition does not meet the licensed criteria, and a responsible prescriber will not work around that. This is not a bureaucratic inconvenience; it reflects the evidence base that supported the licence application.

There are two things worth knowing, though. First, the ethnic-background adjustment is clinically meaningful. NICE TA875 specifies that for South Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean populations, the recommended thresholds are approximately 2.5 kg/m² lower than the headline figures. So a person in one of those groups with a BMI of 27.6 and no comorbidity would still be considered at the lower threshold of around 27.5. If you are unsure whether this applies to you, it is worth raising in a consultation.

Second, a BMI just above 27 paired with a health condition that you may not have formally discussed with a GP (mildly elevated blood pressure discovered at a pharmacy check, for instance) could be enough. A consultation is the right place to explore that, and if you are wondering whether a BMI of 28 could make you eligible for Wegovy, that page sets out how the lower threshold works in practice. Our prescribers review each case individually; if you are borderline, the honest outcome might be that this treatment is not right for you yet, and a prescriber will tell you that plainly. More context on the 30 threshold specifically is on the Wegovy BMI 30 page.

How does a prescriber verify BMI before issuing a prescription?

This is one of the questions our prescribers hear regularly, and it matters because the answer directly affects patient safety. At nume, weight verification happens on a live video call, you step on the scales while the prescriber watches. That is not box-ticking; it is the same-day safety check that sits between your answers and any prescription being issued.

Height is also confirmed, because BMI is a ratio. A small discrepancy between stated and verified measurements can sometimes shift a borderline case materially. For people transferring from another service or requesting a dose increase, evidence of current treatment and recent weight is reviewed before anything changes. That process (a real clinician reading your records before the prescription is written) is what separates a regulated pharmacy from a seller operating outside the licensed supply chain.

If you want to understand what the eligibility process looks like step by step, the BMI required to take Wegovy page walks through it alongside the clinical criteria, and for anyone asking whether a BMI of 25 could be enough to qualify for Wegovy, that page explains the specific circumstances where a lower figure may be considered. And if you have questions not covered here, the FAQs page covers a wide range of common queries. When you are ready to see whether you qualify, our prescribers are available to assess your case properly, you can start a free consultation at any point.