Are weighted vests legit?

These days, it’s not enough to walk 10,000 steps a day. Now, you should be doing that while also wearing a weighted vest. Devotees claim that it can help you burn more calories and increase your endurance. And if you take it from TikTok, next to a Stanley tumbler, weighted vests are the way to accessorize your daily walk.

While social media tends to be all hype, no science, weighted vests might be the rare exception. “This is one TikTok trend that I can easily get behind,” says exercise physiologist Rachelle Reed, Ph.D. “From a public-health perspective, we want all adults to increase their physical activity levels, especially strength training.” And if a weighted vest helps you maintain or increase your physical activity, then it's net-positive.

While helpful for everyone, weighted vests can be especially impactful for anyone on a weight-loss journey — which, although generally beneficial for your overall health, can inadvertently lead to the loss of lean body mass. Weighted vests might also offer some perks during menopause, during which bone density takes a nosedive. Here’s what the experts have to say.

How weighted vests work

Weighted vests look a lot like life vests, except that they contain weights made of sand, iron, or pellets. They work by adding weight to your body, whether you wear them to vacuum or during a workout. That’s because they add a “load” — or, literally, weight — to your body. “Bone and muscle are mechanosensitive tissues, which means that they will respond to the load they experience,” says Sarah Wherry, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Medicine-Geriatrics at University of Colorado School of Medicine. Increasing your load, whether by lifting dumbbells or, yes, wearing a weighted vest, can add intentional (and beneficial) stress to your bones, forcing them to become stronger.

Plus, weighted vests can simply make your body work harder during a workout. “Carrying extra weight during a workout can increase heart rate and energy expenditure, making activities a bit more challenging, relatively speaking,” says Reed. With that, it might not be that surprising that a study found that people wearing a weighted vest with a high load (11% of their body weight) for eight hours a day for three weeks lost weight and reduced fat in their bodies.

Who should be wearing one

Anyone can benefit from weighted vests, but people experiencing menopause or trying to lose weight (or both) might have the most to gain, according to Reed. During menopause, estrogen levels drop; since estrogen plays a major role in bone formation, its low levels can lead to bone loss. And while there isn’t a lot of research looking into this relationship (yet), a weighted vest could theoretically offset those effects. One small study found that postmenopausal women who performed jumping exercises while wearing weighted vests lost less bone mass over five years than those who did not wear vests.

Bone loss is also a risk when it comes to weight loss, whether it’s from counting calories or using a GLP-1 agonist. That’s because your body weight is part of your load — and when you lose weight, it’s a form of “unloading,” according to Wherry.

That’s especially the case when you lose weight quickly. In fact, research has found that losing more than 14% of your body weight in three to four months leads to more significant bone loss compared to more moderate weight loss over a longer stretch of time. (The exact reason is unclear, but it may be due to hormonal changes that occur during weight loss—or fewer opportunities to get calcium in your diet if you’re eating less.)

But “using a weighted vest can be a practical way to introduce some additional load to the skeleton to potentially offset or reduce any bone losses,” says Wherry. On top of that, it “may help maintain or improve core strength, posture, and lower body muscle strength during substantial weight loss.”

Ultimately, weighted vests are a practical, accessible, and relatively cost-effective way for people to incorporate resistance training into their routine. “For those who may not have access to a fitness center or may not want to exercise in a gym, weighted vests can be a good alternative option,” says Wherry.

What to consider before you try or buy one

First, weighted vests “should be avoided in people with joint pain or problems with balance,” says Wherry, who also advises against using one if you have a history of back pain or osteoarthritis of the spine, knee, or ankle. “If using the vest makes any pain you have worse, stop using it.”

And, although weighted vests aren’t a replacement for regular resistance training, they’re better than nothing. “Only about 25% of adults currently meet resistance training guidelines of twice a week, so engaging weight-bearing exercise like weighted vest walking, hiking, or running is a decent step in the right direction for many adults,” says Reed.

Expert-approved weighted vests to consider

When you’re shopping for a vest, consider the fit, which should be snug but not too tight. It should ideally be adjustable (especially if you’re using it as part of a weight-loss program, since your size might change).

Also, consider your personal preferences. “For example, people with shoulder pain may find a vest that has closures in the front to be better than one you must lift over your head, and women might want a vest that is adjustable to accommodate a larger chest,” says Wherry.

Finally, start low and go slow, she says. “In our research studies, we start people at five pounds and increase once they can perform their exercises safely and have not had any pain,” she says. “Generally, that means increasing the weight every four to six weeks, depending on how frequently you’re using it.” (She usually has patients top out at 15 to 20 pounds, based on their size, since too much weight can be hard on the shoulders, spine, and hips.)

Reed, for her part, likes the Prodigen Weighted Vest, since she says it’s easy to use and has a variety of weights at a good price point. While the TRX Training vest is more of an investment, she likes that it’s adjustable and comes in different weight sizes, so you can up the level over time. Just make sure you like it—because as with anything, be it a healthy eating plan or a workout routine, you get the best results if you’re consistent.