Do Weighted Vests Actually Assist With Bone Well being and Weight Loss? This is What the Science Says

Weighted vests have grow to be a classy health accent, noticed on celebrities and promoted on social media for purported advantages like weight reduction and muscle acquire.

They’ve grow to be notably fashionable amongst older ladies, mentioned Kristen Beavers, PhD, professor of gerontology and geriatrics at Wake Forest College College of Drugs—largely as a result of perception that they’ll increase bone power which may be misplaced throughout menopausal modifications.

However that declare—and the broader well being advantages attributed to weighted vests—isn’t as strongly supported by proof because the hype round them may counsel.

One latest research performed by Beavers and her colleagues, for instance, discovered that carrying a weighted vest for seven hours a day for a complete yr didn’t scale back hip bone loss amongst 150 overweight adults actively making an attempt to shed weight. Contributors did, nevertheless, lose about 10% of their physique weight—however so did two different teams (one which targeted on calorie chopping and one other that mixed calorie restriction and resistance train coaching). 

Although the findings, which had been revealed in JAMA Community Open, could also be disappointing for followers of weighted vests, researchers say they aren’t essentially the ultimate phrase on their advantages.

“This research’s findings are counter to some analysis, and according to others,” Colin Haines, MD, board-certified backbone surgeon and director of analysis on the Virginia Backbone Institute, informed Well being. “What’s clear is that the broader physique of proof consists of each impartial and constructive outcomes.”

So, what ought to we make of weighted vests? Are they a waste of time or a health device price making an attempt? Under, we break down the science.

Whereas the JAMA Community Open paper is likely one of the most up-to-date research analyzing the well being influence of weighted vests, it isn’t the primary. 

The truth is, analysis stretching again to the Nineties and early 2000s suggests the other about weighted vests, that they could maintain promise for rising bone density and decreasing fall dangers.

Extra just lately, a 2013 research revealed that six weeks of exercising in a weighted vest stimulated bone synthesis and diminished bone resorption in postmenopausal ladies. Equally, a 2015 research discovered that weighted vests helped postmenopausal ladies increase quadricep power and bone density of the femur.

Beavers mentioned the obvious discrepancy between these findings and her group’s newer research could also be as a consequence of a special method. For her research, members began by carrying vests that weighed solely a pound, with weight steadily added as they misplaced physique weight.

“It is a completely different intervention than carrying a 15-pound weighted vest throughout a one-hour structured train bout,” she informed Well being. It’s additionally attainable that members’ weight standing influenced the result. “That mentioned, we didn’t particularly have a look at an interplay with weight problems,” she added.

As for whether or not weighted vests speed up weight reduction, analysis is proscribed—however the brand new research is not the one one to counsel a attainable hyperlink. In a 2020 research, individuals who wore a heavier weighted vest for eight hours a day over three weeks misplaced extra physique fats than those that wore a lighter vest. And in a small 2025 research, carrying a weighted vest together with limiting energy appeared to assist forestall weight regain after a weight-loss program.

In keeping with each Beavers and Haines, an image is rising of weighted vests as a doubtlessly useful gizmo for advantages like weight reduction and bone density—however extra analysis is important to know for certain.

Some teams might reap extra benefits than others from this kind of health put on. Haines mentioned he’d suggest weighted vests to each postmenopausal ladies and anybody in search of a extra environment friendly, difficult resistance exercise. 

“The final guideline is to maintain the vest weight at or beneath 10% of your physique weight,” he mentioned. “Take heed to your physique and modify your exercise accordingly.”