The Study
Predictors of Fat Oxidation and Caloric Expenditure With and Without Weighted Vest Running
This study tested if wearing a heavy backpack while running changes how your body uses energy. It found that with a heavier backpack, you burn more calories but less fat during the run — but only in people who already run regularly. It doesn't prove the backpack makes you lose fat over time.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if wearing a weighted vest while running helps you burn more calories or more fat.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 555 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The extra calories burned with a heavy vest are small and come at the cost of burning less fat — so if your goal is fat loss, running lighter at a moderate pace is better.
- 2A 10% body weight vest made runners burn 0.46–0.91 extra calories per minute, but burned 10% less fat at medium-high intensities.
- 3A 5% vest did nothing.
- 4The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn — sex doesn't matter once muscle mass is accounted for.
- 5Fat burning peaks at 60% max effort.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Year
2019
Authors
Troy M Purdom, C. Mermier, K. Dokladny, T. Moriarty, L. Lunsford, N. Cole, K. Johnson, L. Kravitz
Related Content
Claims (5)
Recreationally trained runners burn 0.46 to 0.91 more calories per minute when running at high intensities with a vest that weighs 10% of their body weight, compared to running without a vest, because the added weight increases the mechanical effort required.
In recreationally trained adults, the amount of lean body mass determines how many calories are burned while running, explaining 86% of the variation in energy use, and any difference in calorie burn between men and women is entirely due to differences in lean body mass.
When recreationally trained runners wear a vest that adds 10% of their body weight and run at 70% to 75% of their maximum oxygen uptake, their bodies burn 10% less fat than when they run without the vest, because higher intensity shifts energy use from fat to carbohydrates.
During running, the intensity of exercise determines how much fat the body burns, with the highest rate of fat burning occurring at 60% of maximal oxygen uptake in recreationally trained runners, and this pattern does not change based on whether a vest is worn.
Running with a vest that weighs 5% of your body weight does not change how much fat your body burns or how many calories you use up compared to running without a vest.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.