StudyRepo

Obese people were given either a "light" (1% of body weight) or "heavy" (11% of body weight) weighted vest to wear for 8h a day. After 3 weeks of the treatment, the "light" group lost a small amount (<1%) of fat mass. The "heavy" group lost almost 5%.

Obese old people with self-reported arthritis were put on a weight loss program or a weight loss program + a weighted vest for 6 months. A subgroup of both arms returned after 24 months for follow-up examination. The weight loss portion was a "Medifast plan" with 1000-1300 kcal/day. The weighted vest group was asked to wear the vest up to 10h a day during their "active hours" so it wasn't exercise per se, it was long-time wearing of a vest. Weight in the vest was increased weekly to compensate for body weight lost, up to 15% of their body weight. After the 6 month WL+vest protocol, participants were no longer monitored, were instructed to eat as normal, and no longer had the vest. WL and WL+vest groups lost similar amounts of weight & fat, around 10-11kg, of which 1/4 was lean mass. At the 24 month checkin, the WL group regained all their lost weight, whereas the WL+vest group only regained half their weight. Interestingly, at 6 months, the WL group had a reduction of about 240kcal/day in their RMR, whereas the WL+vest group did not have a significant reduction. At the 24 month checkin, the WL group had recovered their RMR, and the WL+vest group was, again, the same. This indicates that wearing the vest prevented a reduction in RMR induced by caloric restriction in the WL-only group.