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Does walking with a weighted vest burn more fat?

What you hear: “Walking with a weighted vest burns far more fat than normal walking and builds stronger bones.”

What the studies found

A small lab study of 10 young adults found that vests weighing 10% to 20% of body weight raised oxygen use and the load on the skeleton during treadmill walking. A 2026 pooled analysis of 9 randomised trials (368 middle-aged and older adults) found vest-plus-exercise improved hip and spine bone density compared with usual activity, and trimmed about 0.7 kg more body fat than the same exercise without a vest. But only one trial compared vest-plus-exercise with exercise alone for bone, and it found no extra bone benefit. In the 12-month INVEST trial of 150 older adults with obesity on a weight-loss diet, wearing a vest about 7 hours a day did not prevent hip bone loss compared with dieting alone; hip bone density fell 1.2% to 1.9% in every group.

What you could do

If you enjoy it, a vest can make walks a little harder, but regular exercise, including strength work, matters more than the vest.

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Not medical advice. General information from published studies, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Talk with your doctor before starting a supplement or changing a medicine, especially if you are pregnant, take other medicines or have a health condition.

How we judged it

Partly true: Some truth, but oversold as usually said. We judge the claim as it is usually said online, not the habit itself. Trials assign people at random, so they can show cause; observed studies follow people and show a link, not proof. Last checked: October 2026.

The studies, in their own words

1. Puthoff et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2006

   Using a weighted vest can increase the metabolic costs, relative exercise intensity, and loading of the skeletal system during walking.

2. Wang et al. Osteoporos Int 2026

   Nine RCTs (368 participants) were included.

3. Wang et al. Osteoporos Int 2026

   Adding a vest to exercise alone did not confer a significant BMD benefit compared with exercise alone, although this finding is derived from a single study.

4. Beavers et al. JAMA Netw Open 2025

   During 12 months, mean (SD) self-reported weighted vest wear time was 7.1 (1.5) h/d, with 78.0% (29.9%) of lost weight replaced in the vest

5. Beavers et al. JAMA Netw Open 2025

   A significant decrease in total hip trabecular vBMD was observed at 12 months in all treatment groups (ranging from -1.2% to -1.9%), with no difference between the WL+VEST and WL groups

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