Weighted vests are having a second. They’re touted as a easy solution to increase power, construct bone, and make on a regular basis motion extra “efficient.” “Ought to I put on a weighted vest whereas I stroll?” is likely one of the most typical questions I hear in my position as an osteoporosis power coach.
Weighted vests have turn out to be a well-liked “hack” within the wellness world, usually promoted as a straightforward solution to construct bone density, power, or endurance. A number of the voices most loudly touting their advantages are additionally benefitting not directly from their sale — so it’s necessary to separate advertising claims from research-backed actuality.
Once I began digging into the science, I needed to know what the proof truly says. Do weighted vests stay as much as the hype, or are they simply one other shiny instrument within the wellness toolbox?
How Did We Get Right here? Why Weighted Vests Turned So Common
As with most health tendencies, a number of high-profile influencers began touting them for all the pieces from bone-building to weight reduction and — bam! — they have been instantly all over the place. Check out a vest promoter’s social media feed and also you’ll seemingly see a number of research cited as “proof” that weighted vests are research-backed.
These people declare what they’re saying is evidence-based, after which checklist a number of research. As a result of these research embrace the phrases “weighted vest(s),” you’re taking them at their phrase. In any case, they’re “consultants,” and also you assume they’ve truly learn the analysis they’re citing. Sadly, simply because a examine used weighted vests doesn’t imply the analysis helps the influencer’s claims.
There additionally appears to be a reasonably predictable checklist of references that get recycled. It makes you surprise in the event that they’re all copying the identical citations.
What Does the Analysis on Weighted Vests Really Say?
Listed here are a number of of essentially the most generally cited research — and what they really inform us about weighted vests.
Lengthy-term Train Utilizing Weighted Vests Prevents Hip Bone Loss in Postmenopausal Ladies (Snow, 2000)
Who: 18 postmenopausal ladies (9 management, 9 intervention)
How lengthy: 5-year examine, 32 weeks per 12 months, 3 occasions per week
What: Individuals wore a weighted vest throughout a 60-minute class together with strolling or delicate stretching, 35 minutes of lower-body resistance and influence coaching (stepping, squats, lunges, toe raises, leaping), and a settle down.
Outcomes: Exercisers prevented hip bone loss; controls misplaced bone.
TL;DR: This examine — an extension of a 9-month trial (Shaw, 1998) — included extra leaping. Strolling was solely used within the heat up and funky down. The vest was worn throughout resistance coaching, not throughout influence work. Due to the blended protocol and small pattern dimension, we are able to’t draw conclusions about carrying a weighted vest whereas strolling. The intervention prevented bone loss however didn’t construct bone.
Results of Train Coaching with Weighted Vests on Bone Turnover and Isokinetic Energy in Postmenopausal Ladies (Klentrou, 2007)
Who: 16 postmenopausal ladies (7 management, 9 intervention)
How lengthy: 12 weeks, 3 occasions per week
What: The train group did a 65 minute class. This included a heat up, 20 minutes of strolling with the weighted vest, quarter-hour of decrease physique strengthening with the weighted vest (squats, lunges, leg lifts, calf raises), 5 minutes of again and core train, quarter-hour of stability workout routines, and a settle down.
Outcomes: The train group gained power and improved physique composition. There have been no important adjustments in bone turnover markers.
TL;DR: Individuals did stroll with a weighted vest, however additionally they did resistance coaching whereas carrying it. Due to the blended protocol, it’s not possible to attract conclusions about strolling with a weighted vest alone. Regardless, this intervention didn’t construct bone.
Results of train on bone density, stability, and self-efficacy in older ladies
(Jessup, 2003)
Who: 18 postmenopausal ladies (9 management, 9 intervention)
How lengthy: 32 weeks, 3 occasions per week
What: Train members took 60- to 90-minute lessons that included a heat up, machine-based resistance coaching, 30-45 minutes of strolling and stair climbing, stability workout routines, and a settle down. The examine additionally included calcium and vitamin D supplementation.
Outcomes: There have been statistically important will increase in bone density on the femoral neck and lumbar backbone within the train group. Non-exercisers misplaced bone.
TL;DR: Weighted vests have been used throughout strolling and stair climbing — however the protocol additionally included resistance coaching and supplementation. The enhancements can’t be attributed to weighted-vest strolling alone.
A comparability between the consequences of the strolling train with and with out weighted vests on bone resorption and health-related bodily health within the working ladies
(Tantiwiboonchai, 2011)
Who: 48 ladies aged 30–60 (24 weighted vest, 24 no vest)
How lengthy: 12 weeks, 3 occasions per week
What: Each teams walked on a treadmill for half-hour at a time. The burden vest load steadily progressed from 2% to eight% of the participant’s physique weight.
Outcomes: Each teams diminished bone-loss markers and gained leg power. No variations between teams.
TL;DR: This was the one direct comparability of strolling with versus with out a weighted vest — and the vest supplied no extra profit.
What About Weighted Vests for Stopping Muscle and Bone Loss throughout Weight Loss?
Some research had members put on weighted vests for 8–10 hours per day throughout dietary weight reduction. Even with that excessive protocol, weighted vests didn’t stop muscle or bone loss (Normandin, 2018; Beavers, 2025). Many members additionally reported again ache — not shocking given the lengthy put on time.
So, What Are Weighted Vests Good For?
In any case that, you could be questioning whether or not there’s any cause to put on one in any respect.
Whereas weighted vests aren’t the bone-building magic some declare, the analysis does recommend they are often useful in particular contexts:
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Stability and stability: In a 9-month examine of postmenopausal ladies, those that carried out lower-body power and energy workout routines whereas carrying a weighted vest improved stability and diminished fall threat (Shaw & Snow, 1998).
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Practical mobility: An 8-week trial discovered that including a ten% body-weight vest to a purposeful stability and power program improved single-leg stance and mobility in older adults (Track, 2022).
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Mountaineering and backpack coaching: Adjustable vests assist your physique steadily adapt to heavier hundreds.
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Grip or wrist limitations: For anybody who can’t safely maintain dumbbells, a vest can add load with out straining the palms or wrists.
Like every health instrument, context is all the pieces.
Key Takeaways
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There may be no proof that strolling with a weighted vest builds bone.
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Most research evaluate an train group to a non-exercise group — and train will at all times outperform doing nothing.
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Decreasing bone loss just isn’t the identical as constructing bone. The one modalities persistently proven to construct bone are progressive resistance coaching and influence coaching.
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The one direct comparability of strolling with vs. with out a weighted vest discovered no distinction in bone-health markers.
Weighted vests can completely have their place — particularly for hikers coaching for elevation acquire or for individuals with grip limitations that make conventional lifting troublesome. They might additionally improve sure stability or stability workout routines. However like most wellness tendencies, a number of the loudest promoters additionally revenue from their sale, and plenty of of their claims merely aren’t supported by analysis.
That doesn’t imply a weighted vest has no worth; it simply means its advantages are sometimes overstated. The secret is understanding what the proof truly reveals — and utilizing that to information your decisions. —Karin