Who Can Take Weight Loss Injections: What the Criteria Actually Mean

Step 1 — Do you meet the BMI starting point?

The licensed eligibility criteria for both Mounjaro and Wegovy begin with body mass index. A BMI of 30 or above qualifies you to be considered. A BMI between 27 and 29.9 can also qualify, provided you have at least one weight-related health condition alongside it. The NHS BMI calculator is a quick way to find your number before you speak to anyone, you can calculate your BMI on the NHS website.

For people of South Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean backgrounds, UK guidance applies those thresholds 2.5 kg/m² lower, reflecting evidence that metabolic risk starts at a lower BMI in those groups. So 27.5 rather than 30 becomes the relevant figure, and 24.5 rather than 27 for the lower band with a comorbidity.

It is worth knowing that BMI is a starting point, not a verdict. A prescriber looks at the whole clinical picture. Someone who technically crosses the BMI threshold may still not be suitable for a particular medicine, and the prescriber's job is to make that judgement, not a checklist or an algorithm.

Step 2, Do you have a relevant weight-related condition?

If your BMI sits between 27 and 29.9, the condition alongside it matters. The ones that count under the licensed criteria include type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), raised cholesterol or triglycerides (dyslipidaemia), obstructive sleep apnoea, and osteoarthritis. Cardiovascular disease also falls within scope for some patients. You do not need to have several of these; one diagnosed condition is enough to meet this part of the criteria.

Conditions do not need to be severe to count. A diagnosis of high blood pressure that is currently well-managed still qualifies. What matters is that the condition exists and has been identified, ideally with a record your prescriber can review. At our pharmacy, the prescriber considers the information you share at consultation alongside any evidence you can provide, such as a recent GP letter or medication list.

If you are not certain whether your health condition is on the list, the FAQs on our website cover the most common questions, and our prescribers are there to assess individual cases rather than apply a rigid tick-box system.

Step 3, Who should not take weight loss injections?

Eligibility is not only about whether you qualify, it is equally about recognising when these medicines are not appropriate. Both Mounjaro and Wegovy are not recommended during pregnancy, while breastfeeding, or when actively trying to conceive. Neither is licensed for use in people under 18. These are firm boundaries, not guidelines open to interpretation.

Beyond those, a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) rules out GLP-1 medicines entirely. A history of pancreatitis, significant gastroparesis, or certain inflammatory bowel conditions requires careful prescriber discussion before treatment is considered. There is a dedicated page on who these medicines are not suitable for if you want a thorough run-through of the contraindications.

People using oral contraceptives who start tirzepatide specifically are advised to add a non-oral method of contraception for the first four weeks of treatment and for four weeks after each dose increase, because the pill's absorption can be affected. Semaglutide does not carry the same recommendation, though using reliable contraception throughout treatment and for a washout period afterwards is advisable for both. This is one of the practical details a prescriber discusses with you, not something to work out alone.

Step 4, What the actual assessment looks like

Knowing you meet the licence criteria is the beginning, not the end. If you are unsure whether your circumstances fit, our guidance on whether you can take weight loss injections walks through the key questions before you reach the consultation stage. In practice, a prescriber confirms your weight, checks your medical history, reviews any medicines you already take, and makes a clinical decision. At nume, that review is carried out by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber, not automated software, and it happens the same day you submit your consultation.

For weight loss injections prescribed through our pharmacy, the process also includes photo ID verification and live weight verification on video. Evidence of current treatment and dose is required for anyone transferring from another provider. If you want a clear picture of the full range of people the criteria cover, our page on who can get weight loss injections sets out the eligibility landscape in detail. If approved, your medicine is dispatched the same day for next-working-day delivery via DPD, it arrives in plain, unbranded packaging, and the DPD tracking link reaches you by text so you know exactly when to expect it.

If you are trying to understand the cost alongside all of this, the weight loss injections cost page sets out what a legitimate private prescription typically includes and what the market looks like since Eli Lilly's list-price increase in September 2025. Price context matters for planning, but the right starting point is always the clinical one. A consultation is free, and it is the only way to know for certain whether these medicines are right for you specifically.

You can read a broader overview of how weight loss injections work if you want more background before deciding whether to go ahead.