What levels of Wegovy are there, and what does each one do?

The biggest myth: you pick your Wegovy level based on how much weight you want to lose

This is the most common misunderstanding our prescribers encounter. People assume the higher levels are for people with more weight to lose, or that you can simply request the dose that matches your goal. Neither is true. The levels exist on a titration schedule, a stepped protocol designed to reduce nausea and other gastrointestinal side effects by letting the body adapt gradually. Your starting point is always 0.25 mg, regardless of your BMI or your target.

The prescriber then reviews how you are tolerating each level before authorising the next step, typically every four weeks. The 2.4 mg level is the standard maintenance dose for most people on the injection. The 7.2 mg level, approved by the MHRA on 14 April 2026, extends the ceiling further (trials reported around 20.7% average weight loss over 72 weeks at that dose) but it requires a separate clinical assessment and is not simply the next rung for everyone. Our semaglutide overview explains the mechanism behind why the titration approach works.

Dose-level decisions belong to the prescriber, not to the patient's preferences. That is a safety boundary, not a bureaucratic one.

What each level is actually for, in plain terms

The 0.25 mg level runs for four weeks and does one thing: settles your system. Most people notice little appetite change at this stage. That is expected. If you are curious about what each of the Wegovy levels involves and what purpose it serves, the 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg levels begin to produce the appetite-suppressing and gastric-slowing effects that semaglutide is known for, as the NHS medicines page for semaglutide explains clearly. The 1.7 mg level is a bridge dose, it exists because jumping straight from 1.0 mg to 2.4 mg produces a sharper increase in side effects for many people.

At 2.4 mg, the STEP 1 trial recorded an average body-weight reduction of around 15% over 68 weeks. That figure comes from a placebo-controlled study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and it reflects the average across participants, individual results vary. The 7.2 mg level, supplied initially as a single pre-set weekly injection via a dedicated auto-dose pen, is for adults who have not reached an adequate response at 2.4 mg and who have a BMI of 30 or above. It is not currently available on the NHS; access is through private prescription.

One practical note: every level of Wegovy needs to be stored in the fridge, ideally somewhere consistent, many people keep their pens in the fridge door so they are easy to spot. There is a limited period during which a pen can be kept at room temperature once removed; the exact window is in the Patient Information Leaflet, and you should follow that rather than any general guidance.

Where the 7.2 mg level sits, and what it changes

A common question at this point is how many levels of Wegovy there actually are, particularly now that the MHRA approved the 7.2 mg Wegovy pen on 14 April 2026, making the UK one of the first countries to authorise this higher maintenance dose. The single-dose pen has a built-in covered needle and locks after use, making the injection process slightly different from the standard pens. The starting dose remains 0.25 mg; reaching 7.2 mg involves the same stepped titration, with the prescriber reviewing tolerance at each level.

The headline trial figure at 7.2 mg (around 20.7% average weight reduction) narrows the gap with tirzepatide's results at its highest dose, which the trade-offs page for Wegovy covers honestly alongside the side-effect profile. It is worth knowing that NICE's appraisal of semaglutide (TA875) recommends the medicine for use within specialist NHS weight management services for a maximum of two years; the 7.2 mg level was approved after that appraisal and sits outside its scope for now. Private prescribing follows the licensed indications rather than NICE criteria.

If you are already on the standard maintenance dose and wondering whether 7.2 mg is relevant to you, that is exactly the kind of question to raise at your next clinical review, not something to act on alone.

Eligibility, prescribing and the private route

The standard Wegovy levels (0.25 mg to 2.4 mg) are licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 to 29.9 with at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes. Lower BMI thresholds apply for some ethnic backgrounds under UK guidance. The 7.2 mg level carries a stricter threshold: BMI of 30 or above only, per the MHRA approval terms.

On the NHS, Wegovy is available through specialist weight management services under NICE TA875, and waiting lists are long in many areas. Getting Wegovy through a private pharmacy removes the referral requirement, though the clinical assessment is still mandatory, a prescriber must review your full picture before any level is authorised. At nume, that review is carried out by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber, not software, on the same day you apply. For a broader look at your options, our weight-loss treatment overview sets out what is available and who each option suits.

If you are ready to find out which level might be right for your circumstances, speak to our prescribers through a free consultation, there is no obligation, and the clinical review happens the same day.