What BMI Do You Have to Be to Get Wegovy in the UK?

What the licence actually says about Wegovy's BMI requirements

Wegovy's UK marketing authorisation, granted by the MHRA, sets out two separate entry points. If your BMI is 30 or above, you are within the licensed population for weight management use. If your BMI sits between 27 and 29.9, you can still qualify, but only when at least one weight-related condition is present. Conditions that count include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia (raised cholesterol or triglycerides), obstructive sleep apnoea and osteoarthritis, among others.

Lower thresholds apply for people from South Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African and African-Caribbean backgrounds. UK clinical guidance recognises that metabolic risk accumulates at lower BMI values in these groups, so the numbers shift downward by 2.5 kg/m² across both thresholds. The NHS BMI calculator is a practical first check if you want to work out where you stand before speaking to a clinician.

One thing worth saying plainly: a BMI of 30 makes you eligible to be considered, not automatically approved. A prescriber will also look at your current medications, your medical history, any contraindications listed in the product's patient information, and whether Wegovy is the right choice given all of that. The number is the door; the clinical assessment is what opens it. You can explore the full picture of BMI requirements for Wegovy if you want more detail on where these figures come from.

How NHS access to Wegovy differs from the licensed thresholds

If you are hoping to access Wegovy through the NHS rather than privately, the criteria are materially tighter. NICE's technology appraisal TA875 recommends semaglutide only within specialist weight management services, only for adults with a BMI of 35 or above and at least one weight-related comorbidity, and only for a maximum of two years. People with a BMI of 30 to 34.9 may qualify if they meet the criteria for specialist referral, but the thresholds are set at a population level to target the greatest clinical need.

NHS England quotes adjusted BMI starting points for Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African and African-Caribbean backgrounds: 32.5 instead of 35, and 27.5 to 32.4 instead of 30 to 34.9. Even if you meet those numbers, access is not immediate. Wegovy on the NHS moves through specialist services with waiting lists that are, in many parts of the country, measured in months rather than weeks.

The gap between what is licensed and what the NHS currently commissions is real. Someone with a BMI of 31 and high blood pressure is squarely within Wegovy's licensed population, but would not currently meet NHS criteria. That gap is one reason many people look at how and where to get Wegovy privately instead.

What the clinical evidence says about these thresholds

The BMI thresholds in Wegovy's licence did not appear from nowhere. They reflect the populations studied in the STEP 1 trial, the pivotal phase 3 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which enrolled adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above with weight-related conditions, and no type 2 diabetes. Over 68 weeks, participants taking semaglutide 2.4mg achieved an average body-weight reduction of around 15%, compared with around 2.4% for placebo. The consistency of results across that enrolled population is precisely what the licensed thresholds reflect.

Since then, evidence has continued to build. The MHRA approved a 7.2mg maintenance dose and a dedicated single-dose 7.2mg Wegovy pen in April 2026, with trial data showing average weight loss approaching 20.7% over 72 weeks. If you are weighing up whether the numbers work in your favour, our guide covering what BMI has to be for Wegovy walks through exactly how those figures apply to the licensed population, including the higher dose.

If you are trying to work out whether your BMI qualifies before booking anything, the NHS BMI calculator gives a reliable figure in a couple of minutes. It factors in height and weight; you can then compare your result against the thresholds above. More context on how much excess weight is typically involved in qualifying for Wegovy is available if you want to think about it from a different angle.

Checking your own eligibility and next steps

Working out whether your BMI qualifies is genuinely straightforward. The clinical assessment that follows is where it gets more individual. A prescriber considers not just your BMI but your current medications (some interact with how the gut absorbs other medicines, which matters particularly for oral contraceptives) your personal and family medical history, and any symptoms that might point to contraindications. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, actively trying to conceive, and being under 18 all mean Wegovy is not appropriate, regardless of BMI.

At nume, every consultation is reviewed personally by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber on the same day it is submitted. There is no algorithm making the call. If you order before midday on a working day and are clinically approved, your treatment is dispatched that afternoon and arrives free the next working day in plain packaging. You can check what BMI is needed to qualify for Wegovy alongside other conditions in more detail, or look at the broader weight-loss treatment options we offer if you are still deciding which path suits you. When you are ready, a free consultation with our prescribers is the right place to start.