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Reading path6 guides, in order

I'm thinking about a GLP-1 for my weight. Where do I start?

A reading path for anyone weighing up Wegovy or Mounjaro, in the order that makes the decision easier.

GLP Guidebook teamUpdated 12 Oct 20265 min read16 sourcesWritten from published sources
The short answer

Start with your health, not the medicine. Australian guidance uses BMI and waist to judge risk, with lower BMI cut-offs for Asian people, and recommended for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Medicines are one option, alongside food, activity and sometimes surgery. No GLP-1 is subsidised on the PBS for weight, so most people who take one pay the full price. GLP-1s are usually long-term and have side effects. These six guides walk you through the decision in order.

Read this page first. It covers what the BMI cut-offs mean for you, who pays, how to make the decision and what to expect if you start. At the end, six guides take you further, in order.
On this page
  1. BMI and waist cut-offs
  2. Who pays
  3. The decision, step by step
  4. What to expect
  5. The risks, in brief
  6. What to read next
  7. Sources

What do the BMI and waist cut-offs mean for me?

They measure health risk. They don't decide whether you should take a medicine.

BMI (body mass index) compares your weight with your height. Waist size shows how much fat sits around your belly.

The Australian Obesity Management Algorithm, the guide most GPs work from, uses lower BMI cut-offs for Asian people, and recommends them for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.1

BMIMost peopleLower cut-offs*
Overweight25 to 29.9123 to 27.41
Obesity30 or more127.5 or more1

* Asian people, and recommended for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.1

Waist. For women, health risk goes up from a waist of 80 cm (31.5 in) and greatly from 88 cm (34.5 in). For men, from 94 cm (37 in) and greatly from 102 cm (40 in).2

Where medicines come in. Wegovy and Mounjaro are approved in Australia for adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 to under 30 with at least one weight-related health problem, such as high blood pressure.3,4 The product information uses the same numbers for everyone.

A number is not a prescription. Being over a cut-off means a doctor may consider a medicine. It doesn't mean you qualify. It's a starting point for a conversation with your GP. Our BMI and waist checker helps you get your numbers first.

Who pays?

For weight, you do. The PBS doesn't subsidise any GLP-1 medicine for weight loss.5

  • A private script. Your GP, or another doctor, writes a script and you pay the pharmacy's full price each month. Your pharmacist can tell you the cost at each strength.5
  • Heart disease. In November 2025 the PBAC recommended Wegovy on the PBS for adults who have already had a heart attack, stroke or similar problem, with a BMI of 35 or more (32.5 for Asian, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people). It hadn't been listed by July 2026.5,6
  • Type 2 diabetes is different: Ozempic and Trulicity can be on the PBS if you meet the criteria. See the diabetes path.7
  • Private health insurance. Some extras policies pay part of a non-PBS script, within limits; some exclude weight-loss medicines.8,9

Guide 6 covers who pays and safe ways to get a script.

How should I make the decision?

One step at a time, in this order. Each step has a guide.

1Check your numbers and health (Guide 1)
2Compare all your options (Guide 3)
3Ask if a GLP-1 fits you, and when not (Guide 4)
4Weigh the side effects (Guide 5)
5Talk to your GP; learn who pays and how to get it safely (Guide 6)
6Using telehealth or a programme? Check it first (Guide 7)
7Review how it's going, regularly

Medicines don't replace food and activity changes. The WHO says GLP-1 treatment should come with support for healthy eating and physical activity.10

Step 6 matters if you go online. The Medical Board of Australia doesn't support prescribing without a real-time consultation, in person, by video or by phone. A questionnaire or online chat alone isn't enough.11,12

The review step matters too. The Australian algorithm sets weight-loss targets with you, often 10–15%, and says to change the plan if they aren't reached.1 For someone who started at 90 kg (198 lb), 10% is 9 kg (20 lb).

What should I expect if I do start?

Expect three things:

  • weight loss that is real, but varies a lot from person to person
  • stomach side effects for many people, especially early on
  • a long-term commitment, because the weight tends to return after stopping

The main semaglutide weight trial, STEP 1, shows what to expect. People were put into two groups at random. One group got the medicine and the other a dummy injection with no medicine in it. Both groups got the same diet and activity advice. So the gap between the two groups is what the medicine added.13

Average share of body weight lost, and what that means for someone who starts at 90 kg (198 lb):

STEP 1Semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy), weekly

1,961 adults with obesity or overweight and no diabetes, 68 weeks.13

Semaglutide14.9%about 13 kg
Dummy injection2.4%about 2 kg

So about 12.5% of body weight, or 11 kg (25 lb) for a 90 kg person, came from the medicine itself.

These are averages, and people varied a lot. On semaglutide, about 86 in 100 lost at least 5% of their body weight, against about 32 in 100 on the dummy injection, and about 1 in 3 lost 20% or more. Put the other way, about 1 in 7 on semaglutide lost less than 5%.13

Most of the weight usually comes back after stopping. A year after stopping, people followed up from STEP 1 had regained about two-thirds of what they lost.14 So plan as if you'll stay on it, and pay for it, for years; the Australian algorithm says these medicines will usually be needed long term.1 Guide 9 covers stopping.

Just a few kilos?It's for a family memberBMI and waist checker

What to read next, in order

These six guides go deeper. Each one ends with a link to the next, so you can read them one after another.

  1. 1Weight and health: what BMI and waist numbers meanGuide 1 of 9UnderstandCheck where you stand with BMI and waist, including the lower cut-offs for Asian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  2. 2Your options, and where medicines fitGuide 3 of 9DecideSee lifestyle support, other medicines, GLP-1s and surgery side by side before you pick one.
  3. 3Should I consider a GLP-1? And when not toGuide 4 of 9DecideWho prescribers may consider for a GLP-1, and the times it isn't a good idea.
  4. 4Side effects and risksGuide 5 of 9DecideWhat the first weeks feel like, and the rarer risks to know before you start.
  5. 5Getting a prescription in Australia, and the medicinesGuide 6 of 9Do it safelyPBS or private script, who may prescribe, the brands, fakes and storage in the heat.
  6. 6Choosing a doctor, clinic or programmeGuide 7 of 9Do it safelyYour GP, telehealth or a programme: what each offers, how they charge and what to check.
Was this page easy to understand?

Sources

  1. Markovic TP, Proietto J, Dixon JB et al. The Australian Obesity Management Algorithm. Australian Diabetes Society, with ANZOS, ANZMOSS and the RACGP, July 2024. diabetessociety.com.au
  2. Healthdirect Australia. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (waist risk from 80 cm for women and 94 cm for men; greatly increased from 88 cm and 102 cm). Last reviewed December 2024. healthdirect.gov.au
  3. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy (semaglutide) Australian Product Information, revised 22 June 2026 (sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.6, 4.8, 6.4). medsinfo.com.au
  4. Eli Lilly. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Australian Product Information, version A14.0, October 2026 (sections 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 6.4). medsinfo.com.au
  5. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Medicine status: semaglutide (Wegovy), document 1460 ("Medicine listed on PBS: Has not yet occurred"), updated 23 July 2026. pbs.gov.au
  6. newsGP (RACGP). Wegovy recommended for PBS listing (established cardiovascular disease; BMI 35 or more, or 32.5 or more for Asian, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander patients). 19 December 2025. racgp.org.au
  7. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Type 2 diabetes mellitus pharmacotherapy diagram, at 1 December 2024 (GLP-1 RA subsidised after an SGLT2 inhibitor is contraindicated, not tolerated or not effective, with HbA1c above 7% on metformin, a sulfonylurea or insulin). pbs.gov.au
  8. HIF. Can you claim for weight loss drugs on your extras cover? ("Benefits can only be paid on non-PBS prescription items"; "The cost of the item must exceed the current PBS co-payment"). 30 July 2026. Insurer article. hif.com.au
  9. The Nightly. Private health insurer HBF tightens belt on weight-loss drug coverage (Saxenda, Contrave, Duromine, Wegovy and compounded weight-loss medicines dropped from 9 July 2024). 1 May 2024. News report. thenightly.com.au
  10. World Health Organization. WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity. 1 December 2025. Link
  11. Medical Board of Australia. Guidelines: Telehealth consultations with patients, in effect 1 September 2023 ("Prescribing … without a real-time direct consultation, whether in-person, via video or telephone, is not good practice and is not supported by the Board"). medicalboard.gov.au
  12. Ahpra. Information for practitioners who provide virtual care ("The Boards do not consider an online chat to be a synchronous (in real time) consultation"). Updated 7 October 2025. ahpra.gov.au
  13. Wilding JPH et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity (STEP 1). NEJM, 2021;384:989–1002. 1,961 adults without diabetes, 68 weeks. DOI
  14. Wilding JPH et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: the STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2022;24(8):1553–1564. 327 people followed for a year after stopping. DOI
  15. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy (semaglutide) US prescribing information, revised June 2026. Sections 1, 2.2, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 8.3, 17. (US label, not the Australian one.) PDF
  16. Novo Nordisk. Ozempic (semaglutide) injection, US prescribing information and Medication Guide, revised May 2026. Sections 4, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 7.2, 8.5. (US label, not the Australian one.) PDF

Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due Jan 2027

How this page was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above: Australian product information, Australian guidance, TGA and PBS documents, and published trials. It's general information, not medical advice. Talk to your GP or another qualified prescriber before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. In an emergency, call triple zero (000). For health advice any time, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222. Report suspected side effects to the TGA. How we write