Wegovy Singapore in brief: Wegovy is a once-weekly semaglutide injection registered in Singapore for chronic weight management. It is a prescription-only medicine. Dr Sin Yong prescribes it only after an assessment and blood tests, inside a programme that fixes nutrition, protein, exercise and habits, because the medicine alone does not hold the result.
Published 6 November 2026 · Reviewed by Dr Sin Yong
Wegovy Singapore · Dr Sin Yong, Orchard Road
The injection quietens appetite. The programme keeps the result.
Once-weekly semaglutide
HSA-registered, prescription-only
Blood tests before and during
Protein, muscle and habits built in
Illustrative, not a patient. Wegovy is prescribed by Dr Sin Yong after an in-person assessment.
Semaglutide copies a gut hormone, GLP-1, that tells the brain you have eaten. Appetite falls, the constant background thought of food goes quiet, and portions shrink without a fight. Dr Sin Yong uses that window to change what you eat, protect your muscle and build the habits that remain when the dose is lowered.
Weight history, waist, blood pressure, HbA1c, lipids and liver tests, and the conditions that rule the medicine out.
the dose over 16 weeksStep up
0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, then 2.4 mg weekly, each step held for four weeks so the gut adapts.
muscle and faceProtect
Protein targets and resistance training to keep lean mass; the face is planned for, not left to hollow.
Suitability is decided at an in-person assessment. No prices are quoted on this page; fees are given in writing after the assessment. Images are illustrative, not patients.
Wegovy is the brand of semaglutide registered for weight management. It is given as a small injection under the skin once a week, the dose rising in five steps over 16 weeks. In Singapore it is a prescription-only medicine, so it sits inside a doctor's programme rather than on a shelf. The wider class, including Mounjaro and Saxenda, is covered on the weight loss medication Singapore page; this page is about Wegovy itself. Dr Sin Yong prescribes it where the assessment supports it, and treats the loose skin and the thinner face that fast weight loss can leave behind.
Short answer Wegovy works, and works best for people who use the months of quiet appetite to change how they eat, keep their protein up and start training. Prescribed without that, the weight tends to return when the injections stop.
Wegovy is semaglutide at a dose of up to 2.4 mg a week, made by Novo Nordisk and registered in Singapore for chronic weight management in adults. Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, a synthetic version of a hormone the gut releases after a meal. The same molecule, at lower doses, is sold as Ozempic for type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is a prescription-only medicine in Singapore: it cannot be advertised with prices, bought online or started without a doctor's assessment, and Dr Sin Yong keeps to those rules.
It is not a fat-burner, a detox or a substitute for eating well. It changes the signal that drives appetite, and it does so for as long as it is taken. That is its strength and its limit, and it is why the way it is prescribed matters more than the molecule.
How semaglutide works on appetite
GLP-1 acts in three places. In the brain it raises the sense of fullness and lowers the pull of food; in the stomach it slows emptying so a meal satisfies for longer; in the pancreas it improves the insulin response to glucose. People describe the effect as the background "food noise" going quiet: the constant planning of the next snack stops. A real-world study presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in 2025 reported a 74% reduction in constant thoughts about food among people prescribed semaglutide for weight management.
Dr Sin Yong's view is that this quiet period is the whole opportunity. It is far easier to learn a protein-first plate, to stop eating at 8 pm, or to train three times a week when hunger is not arguing back. The habits built in those months are what remain when the dose is later reduced.
Who is suitable, and who is not
The registered use is adults with a body mass index of 30 kg/m² or above, or 27 kg/m² or above with at least one weight-related condition: high blood pressure, raised cholesterol or triglycerides, pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, fatty liver, or joint disease made worse by weight. Singapore's Health Promotion Board uses lower BMI cut-offs for health risk in Asian bodies (23 and 27.5), so a Singaporean with a BMI of 27 and a large waist may carry more metabolic risk than the number suggests. Dr Sin Yong assesses the person, not the number: waist circumference, blood pressure, HbA1c, lipids, liver enzymes and, where indicated, a liver ultrasound.
Wegovy is not prescribed in pregnancy, when planning pregnancy or while breastfeeding; with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2; after pancreatitis; with severe gastroparesis or inflammatory bowel disease that is active; or where there is an eating disorder. It is used with care alongside insulin or sulfonylureas because of low blood sugar, and alongside medicines whose absorption depends on stomach emptying. Someone who wants to lose three kilograms before a wedding is not a candidate; the medicine is for people whose weight is harming their health.
The programme around the injection
Weight lost on semaglutide is roughly one-quarter to one-third lean tissue unless the body is given a reason to keep muscle. Dr Sin Yong's programme is built to protect it:
Nutrition: a modest daily deficit of about 500 kilocalories rather than a crash, with protein at 1.2 grams or more per kilogram of body weight each day, spread across meals.
Movement: at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, plus resistance training two to three times a week, because muscle is what keeps the metabolism and the shape.
Behaviour: food logging in the early weeks, fixed meal times, a plan for eating out, and coaching for the moments the medicine does not cover.
Medicine: semaglutide stepped up over 16 weeks and reviewed at every step, with side effects managed early rather than endured.
Protein first, a modest deficit, no crash diets: the plan the medicine makes easier to keep.
Reviews are at weeks 4, 8, 12 and 16, then every eight to twelve weeks. Weight, waist, blood pressure and side effects are recorded; blood tests are repeated at three to six months. If weight loss stalls or side effects outweigh the benefit, the plan changes rather than the dose simply climbing.
The 16-week dose schedule
Wegovy step-up, as registered
Weeks
Weekly dose
Purpose
1–4
0.25 mg
Starting dose; lets the gut adapt, little weight effect expected
5–8
0.5 mg
Appetite begins to settle
9–12
1 mg
Treatment effect builds
13–16
1.7 mg
Near-maintenance dose
17 onwards
2.4 mg
Maintenance dose used in the trials
The injection is given on the same day each week, at any time, with or without food, into the abdomen, thigh or upper arm. A step can be held for longer if nausea is troublesome, and some people are maintained on 1.7 mg if that dose is doing the work. Dr Sin Yong teaches the first injection in clinic.
What the evidence shows
In the STEP 1 registration trial (published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 2021), adults with obesity but without diabetes who received semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly plus lifestyle support had a mean weight change of about −14.9% at 68 weeks, against about −2.4% with placebo and the same lifestyle support. Roughly a third lost 20% or more. In the SELECT trial (2023), people with overweight or obesity and existing cardiovascular disease had about 20% fewer major cardiovascular events on semaglutide 2.4 mg than on placebo. Semaglutide has also been shown to improve the liver inflammation and scarring of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and in 2025 it became the first medicine of its class registered for that use in the United States. Across its development programme the manufacturer reports more than 43,000 trial participants and over 33 million patient-years of use.
The extension of STEP 1 is just as important: in the year after the medicine was stopped, participants regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost. Semaglutide treats obesity the way a blood-pressure tablet treats hypertension — while it is taken — unless the months on it are used to change the inputs.
Side effects and risks
Most side effects are from the gut and from the slower stomach: nausea, bloating, burping, constipation or diarrhoea, and a smaller appetite than intended. They cluster in the first week or two of each dose step and usually fade. Smaller meals, stopping before full, less fat and alcohol, and more water make the difference; anti-nausea medicine is occasionally needed. Less common but important are gallstones (faster weight loss raises the risk), pancreatitis, dehydration leading to kidney strain, low blood sugar when combined with insulin or sulfonylureas, worsening of diabetic eye disease in people with diabetes, and a change in mood that should be reported. Rodent studies showed thyroid C-cell tumours; the human relevance is unknown, which is why a family history of medullary thyroid cancer rules the medicine out.
Two risks that are rarely discussed are loss of muscle and loss of facial fat. Both are managed by the programme above, and the face is covered in its own section below.
Wegovy, Ozempic and the other options
Semaglutide products and alternatives
Wegovy
Ozempic
Saxenda
Oral options
Molecule
Semaglutide
Semaglutide
Liraglutide
Various
Registered use
Weight management
Type 2 diabetes
Weight management
By product
Dosing
Once weekly, up to 2.4 mg
Once weekly, up to 2 mg
Daily, up to 3 mg
Daily tablets
Weight effect in trials
About 15% at 68 weeks
Lower doses; weight loss is a side benefit
About 8% at 56 weeks
Generally smaller
Notes
Dr Sin Yong's usual choice where a GLP-1 is indicated
Off-label for weight; shortages affect diabetes patients
More injections, more nausea for many
Chosen case by case
Non-surgical fat reduction such as fat freezing, radiofrequency or microwave body treatments and muscle stimulation treat pinchable pockets and skin; they do not treat weight. For people a long way above a healthy weight, Dr Sin Yong will also say plainly when bariatric surgery deserves a referral.
The face and skin after weight loss
Fat is lost from the face as readily as from the waist. Twelve kilograms off can take the cushion from the cheeks and temples, deepen the lines beside the mouth and loosen the jawline, which is what people mean by an "Ozempic face". Dr Sin Yong plans for it rather than reacting to it: the rate of loss is kept moderate, protein and training preserve the muscle that holds the face, and where the skin has loosened he lifts it with the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift and tightens it with the Time Freeze Laser LCLR® rather than refilling with volume. Loose skin on the abdomen and arms is assessed for 4K Body Lift radiofrequency once weight is stable.
What decides the cost
Singapore's rules do not allow a prescription medicine to be advertised with a price, and the honest answer is that the fee depends on the plan. It is set by the dose you are on and for how long, the blood tests and review visits built into the programme, and any skin or face treatment added later. The consultation fee and the programme structure are explained before anything is prescribed, and the fee factors are given in writing. See how Dr Sin Yong quotes.
What it is not
Not a cosmetic quick fix: it is a medicine for a medical problem, prescribed on medical grounds.
Not sold here by price, by WhatsApp, or without an assessment and blood tests.
Not a replacement for food and training; without those, most of the loss returns after stopping.
Wegovy: how long it takes, downtime and how long it lasts
Wegovy Singapore at a glance
How many sessions
Weekly injections; 16 weeks to reach the maintenance dose; reviewed at weeks 4, 8, 12 and 16, then every 8–12 weeks.
Downtime
None; nausea in the first weeks of each dose step is the usual complaint.
How long it lasts
Appetite control lasts for as long as the medicine is taken; the habits built during treatment are what remain after it.
Figures are typical ranges from Dr Sin Yong's practice and the published literature; your plan, including the number of sessions, is set after the assessment and may differ. Fees are given in writing after the assessment: see how we quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Wegovy (semaglutide 2.4 mg) is registered with the Health Sciences Authority as a prescription-only medicine for chronic weight management in adults, used together with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. It can only be prescribed by a doctor after an assessment, and it is not sold online or over the counter.
No figure is published on this page because the plan comes first. The fee follows the dose you are on (the pen strength rises in five steps over 16 weeks), how long you stay on it, the blood tests and reviews built into the programme, and whether skin-tightening treatment is added later for loose skin. Dr Sin Yong sets the fee factors out in writing after the consultation.
The registered use is adults with a body mass index of 30 or more, or 27 or more with at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, pre-diabetes or sleep apnoea. Singapore's guidance uses lower BMI risk cut-offs for Asian bodies, so Dr Sin Yong looks at waist, blood results and health history, not the number alone.
People who are pregnant, planning pregnancy or breastfeeding; anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN2; a history of pancreatitis; severe gut problems such as gastroparesis; and people with an eating disorder. Those on insulin or sulfonylureas need their diabetes doctor involved because of low blood sugar risk.
The common ones are nausea, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and reduced appetite, mostly in the first weeks of each dose step and usually settling. Less common but important: gallstones, pancreatitis, dehydration and a change in how other medicines are absorbed. Dr Sin Yong screens for these before prescribing and reviews you at each step.
Both contain semaglutide. Ozempic is registered for type 2 diabetes at doses up to 2 mg; Wegovy is registered for weight management and steps up to 2.4 mg. Using the diabetes product for weight loss is off-label, and the two should not be mixed or swapped without a doctor.
Results vary and nothing is guaranteed. In the main registration trial, people on semaglutide 2.4 mg with diet and exercise lost on average about 15% of their body weight over 68 weeks, compared with about 2% on placebo. What you lose depends on your starting point, how closely the nutrition and exercise plan is followed, and whether you stay on the medicine.
Appetite returns and, in the trial extension, most of the weight was regained within a year of stopping. That is why Dr Sin Yong treats the medicine as a tool inside a programme: protein targets, resistance training and habit changes are built from week one so that less depends on the injection later.
Rapid fat loss thins the fat pads of the face as well as the body, which can leave the cheeks and temples looking older. It is a sign of fat loss, not a drug toxicity. Dr Sin Yong plans the rate of loss, and where the face has hollowed he treats it with the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift and skin-tightening rather than filler.
No. It is a prescription-only medicine. A proper assessment includes weight history, blood pressure, blood tests such as HbA1c, lipids and liver function, a check for the conditions above, and a conversation about what the programme asks of you. Anyone offering it without this is not following Singapore's rules.
