What BMI Do You Need for GLP-1 Medication?

The FDA labels for the weight-loss GLP-1 medications set two Body Mass Index (BMI) thresholds: 30 or higher, or 27 or higher with at least one weight-related condition. Those are the numbers a clinician starts from. They are not the whole decision, and this article explains both halves: the thresholds and what sits around them.

What the labels actually say

BMI is written into the prescribing information for the two GLP-1 medications approved for chronic weight management:

• Wegovy® (semaglutide 2.4 mg, Novo Nordisk) is indicated for adults with an initial BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition. The label's examples are hypertension, type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol or triglycerides).
• Zepbound® (tirzepatide, Eli Lilly) uses the same two thresholds. Its examples of a weight-related condition are hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease.

Two other brand-name GLP-1s you'll see mentioned, Ozempic® and Mounjaro®, are approved for type 2 diabetes. BMI is not part of their indication; a clinician may prescribe them off-label for weight management when they judge it clinically appropriate.

Those thresholds are the FDA's description of who the medications were studied in and approved for. A clinician uses them as the reference point, then looks at everything else.

What 27 and 30 look like at your height

BMI is weight in pounds, times 703, divided by height in inches squared. The table turns the two thresholds back into pounds so you can see roughly where you stand before you calculate.

For your exact number, use the calculator. It shows the category and what it means, with no sign-up.

The categories, for reference

The World Health Organization's ranges are the ones most calculators and clinicians use:

• Below 18.5: underweight
• 18.5 to 24.9: healthy weight
• 25 to 29.9: overweight
• 30 to 34.9: class I obesity
• 35 to 39.9: class II obesity
• 40 and above: class III obesity

So "27 with a condition" sits inside the overweight range, and "30" is the start of the obesity ranges.

Why BMI is where the review starts, not where it ends

BMI is a screening ratio. It is useful because it's quick and consistent, and limited for the same reason:

• It doesn't measure body fat. A muscular person can register as overweight with little body fat; someone who carries weight around the middle can have a healthy BMI and a higher metabolic risk than the number suggests.
• It reads differently across groups. It is less accurate for older adults and during pregnancy, and some clinical guidelines use lower cut-offs for adults of South Asian, Chinese and other Asian backgrounds because weight-related conditions appear at lower BMIs in those populations.
• The field is moving past it. A 2025 Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission proposed defining obesity by its effects on the body (organ function, day-to-day capacity) rather than by BMI alone. That is a proposal, not a label change, but it reflects how clinicians already think.

That is why a GLP-1 intake asks about more than height and weight: the conditions you have, the medications you take, your history (including anything that rules a GLP-1 out, such as a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma), and what you've tried. The number opens the conversation; the history decides it.

Brand-name and compounded: the same starting point, different products

Through Pallas, a clinician can prescribe FDA-approved Wegovy® or Zepbound® (and Ozempic® or Mounjaro® when appropriate), dispensed cash-pay through US-licensed pharmacies. Clinicians can also prescribe compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide, prepared per-patient by US-licensed compounding pharmacies under FDCA §503A when the clinician documents a patient-specific clinical reason for a compounded preparation (a dose step the brand doesn't manufacture, for example).

The BMI thresholds above belong to the brand labels. A compounded preparation has no FDA label of its own, so for it the question is purely clinical judgment: the same history, the same conditions, the same clinician. Compounded semaglutide injection through Pallas is $139 first month, then $199 every 4 weeks, charged once a clinician prescribes. Cancel anytime. Compounded tirzepatide injection is $179 first month, then $299 every 4 weeks, charged once a clinician prescribes. Cancel anytime. One price, with your clinician, check-ins and care-team messaging included and no membership fee.

Compounded medications are prepared on a per-patient basis by US-licensed compounding pharmacies, regulated under federal law (FDCA §503A) and by state boards of pharmacy. While these pharmacies are highly regulated, the compounded medications themselves are not FDA-approved, are not generic versions of brand-name drugs, and have not been evaluated by the FDA for safety, efficacy, or quality. Clinical trial outcomes for the FDA-approved products have not been established for compounded preparations. Individual results vary.

How to check where you stand

1. Calculate your BMI. Height and weight, here. Thirty seconds.
2. Note any weight-related conditions. High blood pressure, high cholesterol or triglycerides, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, sleep apnea, fatty liver, heart disease. These matter most if your BMI is between 27 and 30.
3. Complete an intake. About five minutes online. A clinician licensed in your state reviews it and prescribes only when they decide treatment is appropriate; nothing is charged until then.