What Are the Doses of Wegovy — the Full UK Schedule

Step 1: the starting dose and why it exists

Treatment begins at 0.25 mg once weekly. This opening dose is not intended to produce significant weight loss; its job is to let your digestive system settle before the medicine reaches active levels. Semaglutide slows gastric emptying, which can cause nausea, and starting low means most people find the first few weeks genuinely manageable rather than miserable.

After four weeks on 0.25 mg, the schedule moves to 0.5 mg. Then (again after roughly four weeks) to 1.0 mg. Some people notice appetite changes early; others feel little different until higher doses. Both are normal. The timeline for the first dose to have a noticeable effect depends on individual physiology, not just the number on the pen.

One practical note: pen supply and delivery can sometimes align awkwardly with weekends or bank holidays. If you order regularly, building in a day or two of lead time (rather than waiting until the last injection day) avoids any unplanned gap. A consistent injection day, same time each week, tends to help people stay on track through the early weeks of titration.

Step 2: reaching and staying at maintenance

After 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg, the schedule moves through 1.7 mg before reaching the standard maintenance dose of 2.4 mg weekly. At each rung, the four-week window gives your body time to adapt rather than lurching upward too quickly. If you want a clear breakdown of what the doses of Wegovy are for weight loss and how they progress, that page covers each step in detail. The full titration from start to 2.4 mg therefore takes around 16 weeks minimum, four dose steps, four weeks each.

The 2.4 mg dose is where the clinical trial data is strongest. The STEP 1 trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found an average body-weight reduction of around 15% over 68 weeks at this maintenance dose, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and physical activity. Those figures apply to trial participants, individual results vary, and a prescriber can help set realistic expectations from the start.

For more on the full range of semaglutide doses across different formulations, the overview of what doses of Wegovy are available sets out where the weight-management and diabetes doses differ and why confusing them matters.

Step 3: the 7.2 mg dose, what changed in 2026

In April 2026, the MHRA approved a dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg Wegovy pen, following an earlier January 2026 approval of 7.2 mg supplied as three 2.4 mg pens administered weekly. The MHRA confirmed the single pen (which has an auto-dosing mechanism, a built-in covered needle and locks after use) for adults with a BMI of 30 or above. It is not licensed for the cardiovascular risk-reduction indication or for people with a BMI below 30.

Trials at 7.2 mg reported an average weight loss of around 20.7% over 72 weeks, which begins to approach tirzepatide's results at its highest doses. The titration path still starts at 0.25 mg; no one moves to 7.2 mg without working through the lower steps first, and the timing at each level remains a clinical decision. If you are curious about what all the Wegovy doses are and how they sit alongside each other, that page covers the full picture in one place.

It is also worth knowing that Ozempic (the other well-known semaglutide brand) is licensed in the UK for type 2 diabetes, not weight management. Anyone comparing the two products may find it helpful to read about what the doses for semaglutide are across its different licensed uses, since the schedules differ and the products are not interchangeable. Only Wegovy holds a UK weight-management licence for semaglutide.

Does the dose schedule ever change after maintenance?

Yes, in both directions. If side effects are significant at a given step, a prescriber may hold the dose for an extra four weeks rather than escalating. If someone reaches 2.4 mg and is tolerating it well, the 7.2 mg option is now available, but moving to it requires clinical review, not a self-directed decision.

NICE guidance on semaglutide (Wegovy) recommends reviewing progress after six months at the maintenance dose: if weight loss is below 5%, continuing is unlikely to be the right call. That six-month review is a clinical checkpoint, not an automatic stop, context matters. You can read an outline of how Wegovy works and who it is licensed for if you want the broader picture before deciding whether to start a consultation.

The NHS medicines page for semaglutide covers the dose schedule in patient-facing terms alongside storage, common side effects and missed-dose guidance. For anything touching your specific situation (whether that is a comorbidity, another medicine you take, or a planned surgical procedure) the right source is always your prescriber, not a general schedule. Our free consultation is reviewed the same day by a GPhC-registered prescriber who can answer those questions directly.