TikTok thinks a weighted vest will change your body. Here’s what the science says

If a regular hot girl walk is no longer cutting it, why not add a weighted vest to the mix? While not exactly new, weighted vests are making a strong comeback, especially on TikTok and Instagram, where wellness and fitness creators are touting the benefits of adding a 12-pound vest to your daily strolls.

“It’s my weighted vest era,” menopause expert Dr. Mary Claire Haver posted to Instagram. “Walk as much as you can in a weighted vest and you will be unrecognizable,” one TikTok creator wrote. “This is my clubbing,” another creator posted. “The strobe lights are the stars I see while walking 3 miles in 90 degrees with a 30lb weighted vest on.”

From the $30 Zelus vest dominating your For You Page (often linked through influencers’ Amazon storefronts) to a sleek 20-pound version from Equinox priced at $375, the concept is simple: Adding weight to your walks, runs, or workouts may help boost endurance and stamina. Now fitness and wellness creators are also promoting it as a weight-loss hack, with some claiming they’ve shed up to 30 pounds just by incorporating daily walks with the vest.

But what does the science say? In one frequently cited study, participants wore weighted vests equal to 11% of their body weight for eight hours per day over three weeks and lost an average of 3.5 pounds. Another study had participants wear vests for 10 hours per day and found no significant weight-loss benefits—though many did report sore backs.

Some influencers have said weighted vests are among “the best-kept secrets” for increasing bone density. However, most of the studies cited as evidence of weighted vests’ effectiveness don’t actually involve walking, and the ones that do found no difference in the bone health of participants who wore vests compared with those who didn’t. The Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation doesn’t currently endorse weighted vests for bone health, calling the evidence at best “uncertain.”

The bottom line: If your goal is to build strength or lose weight, don’t ditch your regular resistance training. But if you want to throw on a weighted vest for your walk to the gym, more power to you.

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