Do I qualify for a GLP-1 medication?

Eligibility for a GLP-1 has three layers: what the FDA label allows, what a specialty society recommends, and what is actually appropriate for you. The label is the simplest. Wegovy and Zepbound are both indicated for adults with a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher, or 27 kg/m2 or higher with at least one weight-related comorbidity, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

What counts as a weight-related condition

Hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease are the usual qualifying conditions. Two separate indications sit outside the weight criteria. Wegovy is approved to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or above, and for non-cirrhotic MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis. Zepbound is approved for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with obesity. If one of those applies, the conversation changes: the medication is treating a named disease, not a number.

What the guidelines add to the BMI number

In December 2025 the World Health Organization issued its first guideline on GLP-1 therapies, conditionally recommending that they may be used by adults, excluding pregnant women, for the long-term treatment of obesity, alongside intensive behavioural support. The 2026 American Diabetes Association standards go further on assessment, advising a comprehensive evaluation for obesity-related diseases and complications before an obesity medication is prescribed, with incremental and individualised goals. The 2025 Lancet Commission on clinical obesity recommends that a BMI reading be confirmed by a measure of body fat distribution, such as waist circumference or waist-to-height ratio, and separates clinical obesity, where an organ is already affected, from preclinical obesity, where it is not.

Where the BMI cutoff shifts

BMI thresholds are not universal. The 2022 ASMBS and IFSO guidance states that clinical obesity in Asian populations is recognised at a BMI above 25 kg/m2, and that surgery should be offered above 27.5 kg/m2. The same logic applies to medication: a South Asian patient with a BMI of 28, central adiposity and prediabetes is metabolically further along than the number suggests.

Before your appointment, get an accurate height and weight, a waist measurement taken at the top of the hip bone, a recent HbA1c and lipid panel, and a note of whether you snore or wake unrefreshed. Those five items decide eligibility and the treatment target far more precisely than a BMI calculator on its own.