Wearing A Weighted Vest Can Help You Lose Weight - Research

Wearing a weighted vest can help you lose weight - research

Swedish scientists have tested their theory in humans, according to which the body can fight to maintain excess weight, considering it normal.

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Scientists believe that our body can get used to "carry" a certain minimum weight, and try to maintain it. Perhaps this is preventing many people from losing weight. A new study published in the Lancet EClinicalMedicine has shown that the body can be tricked with a weighted vest.

The theory that the metabolism of a person or an animal can adjust to its weight was previously put forward by Swedish scientists from the University of Gothenburg. They called this system "gravitostat", it is designed to maintain weight within certain limits. Scientists report that animal studies have shown that weight is maintained through hormones that regulate appetite.

The same group of Swedish scientists in a new study tested whether the theory of the "gravitostat" is valid for humans and whether this mechanism can be deceived with weighted vests.

The study included 69 people with mild obesity (body mass index from 30 to 35). Half of the participants wore vests weighing 1 kilogram for 8 hours a day, the other half wore vests weighing 11 kilograms. Participants in the study were not required to do additional exercise, they were instructed to live as usual.

After three weeks (at the end of the study), people who wore light vests lost an average of about 300 grams of weight, and those who wore heavy ones lost an average of 1.6 kilograms. Weight loss was due to adipose tissue. The amount of fat loss, scientists have compared with the weight loss, which is usually achieved "after various forms of physical training."

The study authors want to further verify that wearing a weighted vest can promote weight loss over a longer period of time. They are also going to find out what influences weight loss: decreased appetite, increased energy expenditure or other factors.