Trial reportThe Journal of frailty & aging
Feasibility of Weighted Vest Use during a Dietary Weight Loss Intervention and Effects on Body Composition and Physical Function in Older Adults.
Trial report in The Journal of frailty & aging. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- EffectS of Lifestyle Interventions in Older PEople With Obesity (Effective SLOPE): a Systematic Review With Network Meta-Analyses.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Incretin-Based Therapies, Diet and Exercise Interventions, and Bariatric Surgery on Fat-Free Mass in Adults With Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Weighted vest use or resistance exercise to offset muscle loss in older adults: secondary findings from the INVEST in bone health RCT.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Trial
- Real-world data capture of daily limb loading using force-sensing insoles: Feasibility and lessons learned.Journal of biomechanics · 2024Trial
- Effect of Baseline BMI and IL-6 Subgroup Membership on Gait Speed Response to Caloric Restriction in Older Adults with Obesity.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023Trial
- Estimating heterogeneity of physical function treatment response to caloric restriction among older adults with obesity.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Structured higher protein meal replacement plans for weight loss and metabolic health: A qualitative narrative evidence review of Medifast interventions.Obesity pillars · 2026Review
- Intelligence-driven Mechanomedicine for Weight Rebound in Obesity.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Weighted vest interventions in older adults: a mini-review of implementation, benefits, and limitations.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- The impact of lifestyle-based weight loss in older adults with obesity on muscle and bone health: a balancing act.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Review
- Assessing the Impact of Wearing a Weighted Vest on Balance, Stability, and Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Pilot Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Does weighted vest use during weight loss influence long-term weight loss maintenance? A pilot study in older adults living with obesity and osteoarthritis.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Article
- Exercise with weight vest plus chicken protein supplementation delayed muscle and bone loss in older female adults.Physical activity and nutrition · 2024Article
- Sculpting Success: The Importance of Diet and Physical Activity to Support Skeletal Muscle Health during Weight Loss with New Generation Anti-Obesity Medications.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Review
- Predictors of Clinically Meaningful Gait Speed Response to Caloric Restriction Among Older Adults Participating in Weight Loss Interventions.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2022Article
- Incorporating Nutrition, Vests, Education, and Strength Training (INVEST) in Bone Health: Trial Design and Methods.Contemporary clinical trials · 2021Article
- Dietary weight-loss interventions for the management of obesity in older adults.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2020Review
- Association of Sex or Race With the Effect of Weight Loss on Physical Function: A Secondary Analysis of 8 Randomized Clinical Trials.JAMA network open · 2020Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWhile intentional weight loss in older adults with obesity yields clinically important health benefits there is a need to minimize the negative effects of weight loss on concomitant loss of muscle mass and strength. Data show wearing weighted vests during exercise improves lean mass and lower extremity strength, however the efficacy of wearing a weighted vest during a period of weight loss to mitigate muscle and strength loss is not known.
objectivesThis study examined the feasibility of daily weighted vest use during a dietary weight loss intervention, and examined effects of vest use on body composition and physical function in well-functioning older adults with obesity.
designRandomized, controlled pilot study.
settingWake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC.
participants37 older (age=65-79 yrs), obese (BMI=30-40 kg/ m2) sedentary men and women.
interventions22-week behavioral diet intervention (targeting 10% weight loss, 1100-1300 kcals/day) with (Diet+Vest; n=20) or without (Diet; n=17) weighted vest use (goal of 10 hours/ day with weight added weekly according to individual loss of body mass). MEASUREMENTS: Body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and measures of physical function, mobility, and muscle strength/power.
resultsAverage weighted vest use was 6.7±2.2 hours/day and the vest-wear goal of 10 hrs/day was achieved for 67±22% of total intervention days. Five participants reported adverse events from wearing the vest (all back pain or soreness). Both groups lost a similar amount of weight (Diet= -11.2±4.4 kg; Diet+Vest = -11.0±6.3 kg; p<0.001), with no differences between groups (p=0.25). Fat mass, lean mass, and % body fat decreased significantly (p<0.0001), with no differences between groups. Compared to Diet+Vest, the Diet intervention resulted in greater decreases in leg power (p<0.02), with no other between group differences in physical function.
conclusionThis pilot study showed that vest use during dietary weight loss is feasible and safe in well-functioning older adults with obesity. Larger studies are needed to definitively determine whether external replacement of lost weight during caloric restriction may preserve lower extremity muscle strength and power.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.