You have to be at least 12 years old to take Wegovy. The FDA approved it for adolescents aged 12 and older in December 2022, and there is no upper age limit. For adults 18 and over, eligibility is based on BMI thresholds, while teens must meet a higher bar tied to growth chart percentiles.
Age and BMI Requirements for Teens
Patients aged 12 to 17 qualify for Wegovy if their BMI falls at or above the 95th percentile for their age and sex. That percentile is determined using CDC growth charts, which account for the fact that healthy BMI ranges shift as children grow. A BMI at the 95th percentile means the teen’s weight is higher than 95% of peers the same age and sex, which is the clinical definition of obesity in pediatrics.
Unlike the adult criteria, teens don’t need a separate weight-related health condition (like high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes) to qualify. Meeting the 95th percentile threshold alone is enough. In the European Union, the European Medicines Agency has the same age cutoff of 12, but adds a requirement that the adolescent weigh at least 60 kg (about 132 pounds).
Wegovy has not been approved for children under 12. The FDA label states clearly that its safety and effectiveness have not been established for weight management in that age group.
Age and BMI Requirements for Adults
Adults have two paths to eligibility. If your BMI is 30 or higher (classified as obesity), you qualify. If your BMI is between 27 and 29.9 (classified as overweight), you qualify only if you also have at least one weight-related condition, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.
There is no maximum age for Wegovy. Research comparing weight loss in patients over 65 to younger adults found no significant difference in effectiveness. Older adults lost an average of about 2% of body weight over the study period, compared to 2.25% in younger adults, a gap that was not statistically meaningful. That said, gastrointestinal side effects can be harder to manage in older patients, so prescribers typically weigh the benefits more carefully.
What the Clinical Trial Showed in Teens
The approval for adolescents came from a 68-week trial called STEP TEENS, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Teens taking Wegovy saw their BMI drop by an average of 16.1%, while those on placebo saw a slight 0.6% increase. That roughly 17-percentage-point difference was one of the largest effects seen in any pediatric obesity treatment trial.
The results were encouraging, but teens did experience more side effects than adults typically report. About 62% of the teens on Wegovy had gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, compared to 42% on placebo. Most of these were mild or moderate. Gallstones were another notable finding: 4% of teens on Wegovy developed them, compared to none in the placebo group. Serious adverse events occurred in 11% of the Wegovy group versus 9% on placebo, and about 5% of teens on Wegovy stopped treatment because of side effects.
Common Side Effects in Younger Patients
The most frequent side effects in adolescents mirror those in adults: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and headaches. Teens may also experience loss of lean muscle mass and exercise-related weakness, which is particularly relevant during a period of active growth and physical development.
Long-term risks that have been identified in adults, including pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, kidney problems, and a theoretical risk of thyroid tumors (seen in animal studies), are listed as warnings on the adolescent label as well. However, long-term data in teens is still limited because the clinical trials only ran about 68 weeks. Weight regain after stopping the medication is another documented concern for both age groups. Malnutrition is also flagged as a potential risk, since the drug significantly reduces appetite during a time when adequate nutrition matters for growth.
How the Dosing Schedule Works
Teens and adults follow the same gradual dose escalation. Wegovy starts at 0.25 mg once a week for the first four weeks, then increases every four weeks: to 0.5 mg, then 1 mg, then 1.7 mg, and finally 2.4 mg. This slow ramp-up over about 16 weeks helps minimize nausea and other stomach-related side effects.
The target maintenance dose for teens aged 12 and older is 2.4 mg once weekly, the same as for adults. If that dose causes too many side effects, it can be reduced to 1.7 mg. If 1.7 mg is still not tolerable, the medication should be discontinued. Adults have the option of staying at 1.7 mg as their long-term maintenance dose, while the pediatric label targets 2.4 mg with 1.7 mg reserved only as a fallback.
Wegovy is a once-weekly injection given under the skin, typically in the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. More recently, an oral tablet form has also been approved, though currently only for adults.