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How can I get weight loss treatment?

You can get weight loss meds both over-the-counter and on prescription. But before you go down the medication route, you may want to think about whether weight loss treatment is right for you. Looking at the various prescription and OTC options - which will help you to achieve your weight loss goal in the safest and most effective way?

Medically reviewed by

Alexandra Cristina Cowell, Writer & Clinical Content Reviewer

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Reviewed on Mar 18, 2025. by Dr Alexandra Cristina Cowell Writer & Clinical Content Reviewer Next review due on Mar 20, 2028.

Last updated on Mar 18, 2025.

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The best way to find out the answer to this question is to speak to a medical professional. Whether that be your local GP, an online registered doctor or a pharmacist. Both prescription weight loss medication and the over-the-counter weight loss medication have certain criteria that are used to assess someone’s suitability for the treatment. You’ll likely be asked a number of questions and have your BMI (body-mass index) calculated.

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If you come across weight loss meds that are available without a pharmacist’s or doctor’s supervision then they might not work as expected and in some cases may not even be safe. Speaking to a medical professional is the best way to get the best advice. Clinicians can offer a number of different weight loss medication options through an online consultation, where they’ll help you choose the best one for you.

Which weight loss meds are available?

There are quite a few different prescription weight loss treatments available. As well as prescribed weight loss tablets, there is also injectable weight loss medication. The treatment options are:

Orlistat (also under the brand names Xenical, Orlos, and Alli). It’s a tablet you take alongside your meals which reduces the amount of fat your body can digest. Alli and Orlos are lower dose options you can get without a prescription.
Mysimba tablets contain two active ingredients: bupropion and naltrexone. And works by reducing your appetite and cravings. This helps you consume less food and lose weight in the long-run.
Liraglutide (available under the names Saxenda, Nevolat, Biolide, and Plaobes). It’s a daily injectable GLP-1 that works by slowing digestion and reducing appetite.
Wegovy is a once-weekly injectable medication. Its active ingredient, semaglutide, reduces your appetite, slows digestion, and increases your insulin production, so you feel fuller for longer and less hungry.
Mounjaro is another injectible treatment you administer once a week. The active ingredient, tirzepatide, works in much the same way as semaglutide (the active ingredient in Wegovy) by reducing food cravings and increasing satiety. However, the effectiveness profile is slightly different (it seems to perform better in clinical trials ).

How to get prescribed weight loss medication

If you’re looking to get prescription weight loss medication, you’ll need to follow a few basic steps:

First up, you need to speak with a doctor or pharmacist, as they’ll be able to make the decision on whether weight loss medication is suitable for you.
A clinician will talk to you about your current health and your medical history. They’ll also consider your current weight, BMI and your history with dieting and other weight loss medications or procedures you may have tried in the past. This will allow them to build a picture so that they offer you the best treatment options.
If you and the clinician agree that weight loss medication can be used to help you lose weight long-term and in a healthy manner, they’ll go ahead and help you choose your treatment.
Once you have some treatment options, you can weigh the pros and cons of each and look at their risks and possible side effects. It’s important to make an informed decision about any medication.
If you’ve had an in-person appointment with a doctor then you’ll need to pick up your prescription from a pharmacy or arrange for it to be delivered. If you’ve had an online consultation your treatment will usually be dispensed and delivered to your door.
They’ll keep in contact with you to see how your treatment is going, and to make sure that the medication is right for you.

What weight do you have to be to qualify for weight loss medication?

You don’t need to be a certain weight in order to qualify for weight loss medication. Instead, your BMI is used to calculate suitability. This can be different for each medicine, but most medications are licensed for people who have a BMI of 30 or above, but if you have a BMI of over 27 and suffer from other health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, you may still be considered for weight loss treatment.

You need to be a certain BMI to be prescribed weight loss medication because it isn’t suitable for people with a healthy weight and, like with every medication, there are side effects and risks associated with its usage. It isn’t sensible to take these risks (even though they’re small) if you don’t really need the treatment. For example, weight loss pills that hinder the absorption of certain substances in your diet can leave you lacking some essential nutrients.

Which weight loss pills are available over-the-counter?

Alli and Orlos are branded versions of Orlistat. They’re available to buy from pharmacies without a prescription (legal status Pharmacy), as they come in a lower dose than Xenical and generic Orlistat. They work by removing excess fat from the body by preventing it from being broken down.

Can anyone get OTC weight loss medication?

Although Alli and Orlos are over-the-counter medications, you still need the supervision of a pharmacist to start using them. If you go to a pharmacy and request them, the pharmacist will need to talk to you about the medication before you can start treatment with it. There is still a basic criteria that must be met before you can take either of them:

You must be over the age of 18
Have a BMI of 28 or above
Agree to start a reduced calorie, lower fat diet

Which weight loss medications are available on the NHS?

You can get weight loss medication on the NHS, but you need to speak to your doctor first. They need to make sure that certain criteria are met before they prescribe any weight loss medication. The process is simple:

You need to be fully assessed by a healthcare professional who will decide if medication is right for you or not.
You need to start a low-fat diet and exercise program before starting treatment, and you’re expected to continue this program while you take your medication.
It will only be prescribed if you’ve already made a significant effort to lose weight in the past and nothing has worked.
You’ll need to have a high BMI, usually alongside weight-related risks or conditions (like high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease).

Can you get weight loss injections on the NHS?

Injectable weight loss medication is available on the NHS. But you need to meet certain criteria to start using it:

Your BMI must be at least 35 or 32.5 if you’re of Asian, Black African or African-Caribbean origin, which is higher than the BMI necessary to get weight loss pills. So if your BMI is 30-35, you can use Saxenda but it won’t be available to you on the NHS.
You suffer from comorbidities such as pre-diabetes, diabetes or hypertension.
You must follow an exercise plan as well as a reduced-calorie diet for the duration of the treatment, and ideally after the treatment is over.

Are Wegovy and Mounjaro available on the NHS?

Wegovy (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are available to some people through the NHS. But because they’re newer treatments, they’re still in the process of being rolled out in some areas.

At time of writing, Wegovy is available to people who have been referred to specialist weight management services, and have a BMI of at least 35 or 32.5 if you’re of Asian, Black African or African-Caribbean origin or 30 to 34.9, or 27.5 to 32.4 if you’re of Asian, Black African or African-Caribbean origin in addition to at least one weight-related condition (such as high blood pressure or heart disease).

Mounjaro is also available to patients through specialist weight management services, but the criteria is slightly different – patients must have a BMI of 35 or higher and at least one weight-related condition. Your BMI cutoff might be lower based on your ethnic background, same as for Wegovy.

Are weight loss pills available at supermarkets?

Technically yes, but you can’t go to the supermarket and grab weight loss pills straight off the shelves. If the supermarket has an in-house pharmacy, you might be able to get weight loss pills there. The pharmacist will want to make sure that anyone using a weight loss medication meets the criteria for that treatment. Even though Alli has a reduced dose of the active ingredient orlistat and is available without a prescription, it shouldn’t be taken by someone who isn’t overweight.

If you find weight loss pills on the shelves, it’s likely that any claims to help you lose weight aren’t substantial. It’s unlikely that those products have any clinical evidence to support their claims, so are best avoided. It’s always better to speak to a clinician or pharmacist and get a legitimate product under medical supervision, otherwise you risk losing your money or getting unnecessary and unpleasant side effects.

This page was medically reviewed by Dr Alexandra Cristina Cowell, Writer & Clinical Content Reviewer on Mar 18, 2025. Next review due on Mar 20, 2028.

Last updated on Mar 18, 2025.

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