What Is the Usual Dose of Wegovy, and How Does the Schedule Work?

Where the 2.4 mg figure comes from

The 2.4 mg weekly maintenance dose was established in the STEP 1 trial, a 68-week study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Adults with obesity who reached and stayed on 2.4 mg lost an average of around 15% of their body weight over the trial period. That figure is a population average from a randomised controlled trial, individual results vary, and the medicine is always taken alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

What the trial also confirmed is that the gradual titration mattered. Participants who moved too quickly through dose increases experienced more gastrointestinal side effects: nausea, loose stools, stomach discomfort, sometimes vomiting. The four-weekly step structure is not bureaucracy; it is the safety infrastructure built into the treatment design. The NHS semaglutide medicines page reflects this, noting that doses are increased slowly to reduce the chance of side effects settling in hard.

Crucially, not everyone reaches 2.4 mg. If side effects at a given step are significant, the prescriber may hold that dose for longer before increasing, or may decide the highest tolerated dose is the right maintenance point for that person. The schedule is a framework, not a conveyor belt.

The five steps, and the newer 7.2 mg ceiling

The licensed UK titration runs: 0.25 mg for weeks 1–4, 0.5 mg for weeks 5–8, 1.0 mg for weeks 9–12, 1.7 mg for weeks 13–16, then 2.4 mg from week 17 onward. Each rung requires at least four weeks before moving up. You can read about what the lowest dose actually does (and why it is described as a tolerability step rather than a therapeutic one) in more detail separately.

In January 2026, the MHRA approved a higher maintenance dose of 7.2 mg weekly for adults with a BMI of 30 or above who need it. On 14 April 2026 the MHRA went further, approving a dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg pen, one pre-set weekly injection that locks after use. Trial data at 7.2 mg showed approximately 20.7% average weight loss over 72 weeks, narrowing the gap with tirzepatide 15 mg results. The starting point for anyone moving to 7.2 mg still begins at 0.25 mg; reaching the new ceiling takes the same gradual route.

For a full picture of the upper end of the schedule, the highest Wegovy dose page covers the 7.2 mg approval in detail.

What a prescriber looks at before each dose step

A question our prescribers hear regularly: can you just start on a higher dose to save time? The short answer is no, and for good reason. Before each increase, a clinician needs to know whether the current dose is being tolerated, whether any new symptoms have emerged, and whether the person's weight and health picture are moving in the expected direction.

NICE's recommendation for semaglutide under TA875 includes guidance that if someone has not lost at least 5% of their body weight after six months on the maintenance dose, continuing should be reviewed, which makes the clinical check-in at each stage genuinely important, not a formality. Eligibility for private treatment requires a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above alongside a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes; lower thresholds may apply for some ethnic backgrounds under UK guidance. BMI alone does not determine suitability; the prescriber weighs the whole clinical picture.

People transferring from one provider to another, or returning to treatment after a break, should expect their prescriber to reassess their current dose rather than automatically continue from where they left off. If you are thinking about what the starting point looks like, the first Wegovy dose page answers that specifically.

Dose timing, practical realities, and cost context

Wegovy is injected once a week, and the day can be any day you choose, consistency matters more than the specific day. Many people pick a day early in the week so any mild nausea from a dose increase is mostly gone before the weekend. If you happen to order on a Monday and your consultation is approved the same day, your pen can be with you by Tuesday morning via tracked next-working-day delivery. That rhythm works well for a weekly injection schedule.

Storage is straightforward between doses: refrigerated at 2–8°C, away from the freezer compartment. The Patient Information Leaflet specifies the exact room-temperature window if you need to travel, always follow the leaflet rather than general advice you find online.

One area where dosing questions often meet financial ones: the cost per pen changes as you move through the schedule, and the higher doses carry a higher price in the private market. Our Wegovy cost page covers what private treatment typically involves and what is included in a single transparent price. For a broader look at the treatment itself, the Wegovy overview sets out the mechanism, the licence, and how it sits alongside lifestyle changes. If you are still comparing your options, the weight-loss treatment overview covers the full range of medicines available.