PETITIONRejectedPetition · petition.parliament.uk

Abolish the body mass index (BMI) scale in being a criteria to determine health.

The government should review and eliminate outdated BMI criteria for NHS fertility treatment, replacing it with a more inclusive, evidence-based approach. This ensures fair access, accounting for individual health and diversity, rather than relying on a measure designed for White males in the 1830s.

Last fetched 18 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk

Signatures

signatures

Government response threshold (10,000) · 16/10,000

Debate threshold (100,000) · 16/100,000

Petition progress2 events · Dec 2024 – Feb 2025

12 FEB 2025
Petition rejected
irrelevant
Healthcare in Wales is something that the Welsh Government and Welsh Parliament is responsible for. That means that the UK Government and Parliament can't look into it. The Welsh Parliament has its own Petitions Committee. If you'd like to send your petition to the Welsh Parliament, you can find out more here: https://petitions.senedd.wales/ You may also wish to raise this issue with your local Members of the Senedd who represent you. You can find out who your Members of the Senedd are and how to contact them here: https://senedd.wales/find-a-member-of-the-senedd/
20 DEC 2024
Petition created

Background

Access to NHS-funded fertility treatment requires meeting BMI criteria, with a max of 30 in Wales (35 for private clinics). Developed in the 1830s using only White males, BMI ignores sex, ethnicity, health conditions like PCOS, and body composition, unfairly impacting women. The UK must adopt fairer, evidence-based criteria, especially when a condition can impact a person’s ability to reach this unjustifiable target. BMI does not determine the overall health of the person needing the treatment.