Wegovy is FDA-approved for patients aged 12 and older. Adults and adolescents have different eligibility criteria, but the medication itself and the final maintenance dose are the same for both groups.
Age and Eligibility for Adults
For adults 18 and older, Wegovy is approved for chronic weight management in two scenarios: a BMI of 30 or higher (obesity), or a BMI of 27 to 29.9 (overweight) with at least one weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, or obstructive sleep apnea. In both cases, the medication is meant to be used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
Age and Eligibility for Adolescents
The FDA expanded Wegovy’s approval to include adolescents aged 12 and older in late 2022. The bar for teens is more specific than for adults. Rather than a fixed BMI number, eligibility is based on BMI percentile: adolescents must have a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for their age and sex, which is the clinical definition of obesity in children and teens.
Because a “normal” BMI shifts as kids grow, the FDA provides age-specific cutoff values. For example, a 12-year-old boy qualifies with a BMI of 24.2 or higher, while a 12-year-old girl qualifies at 25.2 or higher. By age 17, those thresholds rise to 28.2 for boys and 29.6 for girls. Your child’s pediatrician can plot their BMI on CDC growth charts to determine whether they meet the cutoff.
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports this use. In early 2023, the AAP released clinical practice guidelines recommending that clinicians offer obesity medications, including drugs in Wegovy’s class, to adolescents 12 and older with obesity as an add-on to lifestyle changes like better nutrition and regular physical activity.
European Approval Differs Slightly
The European Medicines Agency also approved Wegovy for adolescents 12 and older with obesity, but adds one extra requirement: the teen must weigh more than 60 kg (about 132 pounds). The EMA also requires that treatment be discontinued if the adolescent hasn’t reduced their BMI by at least 5% after 12 weeks on the full dose. The FDA label does not include either of those stipulations.
What the Clinical Evidence Shows for Teens
The adolescent approval was based on a 68-week trial called STEP TEENS. Teenagers taking Wegovy reduced their BMI by an average of 16.1%, while those on placebo saw their BMI increase by 0.6%. That’s a meaningful gap, and it gave regulators enough confidence to extend the approval beyond adults.
How the Dosing Schedule Works
Teens follow the same step-up schedule as adults. Wegovy is injected once a week under the skin, starting at a low dose and increasing every four weeks over about four months:
- Weeks 1 through 4: 0.25 mg
- Weeks 5 through 8: 0.5 mg
- Weeks 9 through 12: 1 mg
- Weeks 13 through 16: 1.7 mg
- Week 17 onward: 2.4 mg (maintenance dose)
This gradual increase helps minimize side effects, especially nausea. If a teen can’t tolerate the full 2.4 mg maintenance dose, the prescriber can drop it to 1.7 mg. If that’s still not tolerable, the medication should be stopped.
Who Should Not Take Wegovy
Regardless of age, Wegovy is contraindicated for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, a rare type of thyroid cancer, or a condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. It’s also off-limits for anyone who has had a serious allergic reaction to semaglutide.
The FDA label also warns against prescribing Wegovy to patients with a history of suicide attempts or active suicidal thoughts. This is worth discussing openly with a prescriber, especially for adolescents, since mental health screening is a standard part of the evaluation process.
Children Under 12
Wegovy is not approved for children younger than 12. There are no completed trials of injectable semaglutide specifically in that age group for weight management. Some related research has looked at oral semaglutide in children as young as 10 for type 2 diabetes, but that’s a different formulation, a different condition, and does not change the current weight management approval.