Who can use Wegovy in the UK? Licence and eligibility

Adult weight-management criteria

For adults, Wegovy injection is licensed alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity when the starting BMI is 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition. The product information gives examples: abnormal glucose regulation, high blood pressure, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease.

Your starting BMI is the one that counts. Losing weight on treatment does not put you in the same position as someone who starts at your new, lower BMI. Whether you carry on is a clinical decision about maintenance. Your prescriber should base it on your recorded starting history, your response and your current health. An online calculator alone gives the wrong answer.

Age limits and the 7.2 mg dose

Wegovy has a weight-management indication for adolescents aged 12 and over who have obesity and weigh more than 60 kg, with a set point to reassess response. Young people should not get adult online weight-loss care this way. Growth, development, nutrition and specialist oversight all matter.

The higher 7.2 mg weekly dose applies only to adult weight management in obesity. It does not cover adolescents, adults treated under the overweight criteria or cardiovascular risk reduction. You still need to step up through the standard doses first. Qualifying for the higher dose never makes it a suitable first injection.

Cardiovascular prescribing has its own indication

Wegovy also has a UK indication to reduce major cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or more. Your prescriber should record the reason for prescribing and the evidence behind the decision. A family history of heart disease, or a wish for future protection, is a different situation from established disease.

Most of the cardiovascular-outcome evidence comes from the 2.4 mg dose. Greater weight loss on a higher dose cannot be read as extra protection against heart attack or stroke.

The MASH liver-disease indication

The current UK injection licence also covers non-cirrhotic MASH with F2 to F3 liver fibrosis in adults, alongside diet and exercise. You need a proper diagnosis and a fibrosis assessment. A fatty liver finding on its own does not qualify. The maintenance dose for MASH is 2.4 mg. The 7.2 mg adult-obesity dose does not apply here.

Factors needing a closer look

Pregnancy, planned pregnancy, breastfeeding, serious gastrointestinal disease, past pancreatitis, gallbladder symptoms, kidney impairment and diabetic eye disease all need careful discussion. Some rule treatment out. Others change monitoring or the choice of medicine. A tick-box list cannot judge how several conditions interact.

Tell your clinician about prescribed medicines, online purchases, supplements and other weight-loss products. Insulin and sulfonylureas change your hypoglycaemia risk. Taking another GLP-1 medicine at the same time is a bigger problem: you would be doubling up on the same type of treatment.

Meeting the licence does not guarantee a prescription

NHS obesity prescribing follows funding guidance and local pathways. Private providers may set tighter rules than the licence. If you are turned down, ask which reason applies: the licence, a clinical risk, the scope of the provider's service or NHS commissioning rules.

A sound assessment uses checked measurements, gives you a chance to talk with the clinician and records a follow-up plan. Changing your figures to pass an online form hides information your clinician needs. You risk the wrong dose or a missed underlying problem.