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What BMI do you need for Wegovy in Canada?

GLP Guidebook teamUpdated 12 Oct 20268 sourcesWritten from published sources
The short answer

Health Canada approves Wegovy (semaglutide) for adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea. Canada's obesity guideline adds waist size and lower BMI cut-offs for people of South, Southeast and East Asian descent.

Before you go further
  • Every GLP‑1 medicine is a prescription drug in Canada. A doctor, nurse practitioner or other authorized prescriber must assess you first.1
  • Prices here are official list or formulary prices, with the date we checked them. We never quote a pharmacy's, clinic's or savings card's price, and we don't name or rank sellers.
  • Canadian law bans advertising a drug to the public as a treatment for obesity or diabetes. This page is information, not an ad, and nothing here is for sale. The risks are in Guide 5: Side effects and risks.

What does the Wegovy label say?

For adults, a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol or obstructive sleep apnea.2

For teenagers aged 12 to 17, the label requires a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for age and sex, a weight above 60 kg (132 lb), and too little response to diet and activity.2 Separately, Wegovy can lower the risk of a non-fatal heart attack in adults with established heart disease and a BMI of 27 or more.2 Zepbound and Sevmia use similar BMI thresholds.3,4

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What does Canada's obesity guideline add?

It recommends offering medicines at a BMI of 30, or 27 with adiposity-related complications, and using waist size and ethnicity-specific thresholds too.5

For adults of South, Southeast or East Asian descent, the guideline sets the BMI cut-off for overweight at 23, not 25.6 Its waist cut-offs are 102 cm (40 in) for men and 88 cm (35 in) for women. For South, Southeast and East Asian adults they are 85 cm (33 in) and 75 cm (30 in).6 Example: someone 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall weighing 87 kg (192 lb) has a BMI of about 30, by our arithmetic. See Guide 1.

Does meeting the BMI mean you'll get it?

No. The BMI makes Wegovy an approved option; your prescriber decides, and no public plan pays for weight management, as of 12 October 2026.7

Canada's Drug Agency backed public funding only at a BMI of 27 or more with established heart disease, and talks ended without a deal.8,7 See Is Wegovy covered in Canada?

RisksThe risks, in brief
  • Stomach effects are very common. In the weight trials on the Canadian Wegovy monograph, 44 in 100 people on Wegovy felt sick (nausea), against 16 in 100 on placebo.2
  • Gallstones were reported in 1.6 in 100 people on Wegovy and 0.7 in 100 on placebo. Losing weight fast raises the risk.2
  • Inflamed pancreas (pancreatitis) was confirmed in 4 people on Wegovy in the weight trials, about 0.2 cases per 100 patient-years, against 1 on placebo.2
  • Who shouldn't take it. Not for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2. Stop it at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy.2
Full detail in Guide 5: Side effects and risks →

Read the full picture

Related questions

Is Wegovy covered in Canada? What is Sevmia? Is Zepbound available in Canada? Is Mounjaro approved for weight loss in Canada?
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Sources

  1. Health Canada. Drug Product Database: product records and marketing status for semaglutide and tirzepatide products (for example Ozempic DIN 02471469 "Marketed"; Sevmia DIN 02569582 "Approved", not marketed; Zepbound first marketed 9 July 2025). Searched 12 Oct 2026. health-products.canada.ca
  2. Novo Nordisk Canada. Wegovy (semaglutide injection) Product Monograph, revised 2 Oct 2026 (indications: adults with BMI 30 or more, or 27 or more with at least one weight-related comorbidity such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia or obstructive sleep apnea; ages 12 to under 18 at the 95th percentile and above 60 kg (132 lb); non-fatal heart attack risk with established cardiovascular disease and BMI 27 or more; MASH under the NOC/c policy; nausea 44% vs 16% on placebo; gallstones 1.6% vs 0.7%; stop at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy; do not freeze). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
  3. Eli Lilly Canada. Zepbound (tirzepatide injection) Product Monograph, 11 Jun 2026 (indications: BMI 30 or more, or 27 to under 30 with a weight-related condition; moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with BMI 30 or more; nausea 24.6–29.0% on 5–15 mg vs 8.5% on placebo; cholecystitis 0.6% vs 0.2%; oral contraceptives: switch or add a barrier method for 4 weeks after starting and after each dose increase; "The ZEPBOUND multi-dose KwikPen contains 4 doses"; unrefrigerated up to 30 °C for up to 30 days; do not freeze; discard "in a puncture-resistant container, or in accordance with local requirements"; not recommended with other tirzepatide products or GLP-1 RAs). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
  4. Apotex. Sevmia (semaglutide injection) Product Monograph, authorized 29 Jun 2026 ("Multi-use pre-filled pen delivering doses of 1 mg, 4 mg / pen"; "SEVMIA can be prescribed only for 1 mg once weekly dosing. Alternative products are needed to achieve doses of Semaglutide Injection exclusive of the 1 mg dose"; Wegovy's weight-management and heart-attack-risk indications; not to be combined with other semaglutide products). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
  5. Pedersen SD, Manjoo P, Dash S, et al. Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: Pharmacotherapy for Obesity Management in Adults, 2025 update. Obesity Canada, version 3, 11 Aug 2025 (Rec 1: waist measures and "ethnicity-specific BMI thresholds"; Rec 3: medicines "should be offered to individuals with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with adiposity related complications"; compounded products not to be used). obesitycanada.ca (PDF)
  6. Wharton S, et al. Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: Assessment of People Living with Obesity. Obesity Canada, version 1, 4 Aug 2020 ("In adults with South-, Southeast- or East Asian ethnicity, the recommended BMI cut-off for overweight should be ≥ 23 kg/m2"; waist ≥102 cm in men or ≥88 cm in women, or ≥85 cm and ≥75 cm for South, Southeast and East Asian adults). obesitycanada.ca (PDF)
  7. BC PharmaCare. Drug coverage decision: semaglutide (Wegovy), 18 Dec 2025 ("Non-benefit"; Novo Nordisk "would no longer be seeking public coverage of Wegovy in Canada"; pCPA negotiations concluded without agreement on 1 Dec 2025). gov.bc.ca (PDF)
  8. Canada's Drug Agency (CDA-AMC). Semaglutide (Wegovy) reimbursement recommendation SR0841, July 2025 ("Reimburse with conditions" only for adults with "a BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater and established CVD"; "at least a 5% reduction in BMI or total body weight" to continue after year 1; "A price reduction of 67% would be required"; "approximately $5,066 per patient per year"). canjhealthtechnol.ca

Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Oct 2027 · Report an error

How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above, all checked on 12 Oct 2026. Prices are official list or formulary prices, never a seller's, savings-card or coupon price, and we don't name or rank sellers. Availability, coverage and recall facts are dated because they change. Figures marked as our arithmetic are worked out from those sources. It's general information, not medical advice, and not an advertisement for any medicine. Talk to a doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write