The Study
Effect of Vest Load Carriage on Cardiometabolic Responses with Load Position, Load Mass, and Walking Conditions for Young Adults
This study watched how young men’s hearts and energy use changed when they walked with heavy vests. It found patterns—like heavier vests made them work harder—but it didn’t prove the vest caused those changes, just that they happened together.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested how wearing a weighted vest affects your breathing and heart rate while walking on a treadmill.
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 542 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — carrying just 10 kg while walking makes your body work noticeably harder, and heavier loads make it exponentially harder, which matters for soldiers, firefighters, or anyone carrying gear.
- 2Wearing a 15% body weight vest (like 10 kg for a 68 kg person) made people use 12% more energy.
- 3Every extra kilogram made energy use go up faster and faster.
- 4Heart rate went up steadily with each added kg.
- 5Where the weight sat on the back didn’t matter.
- 6Walking faster or uphill made energy use jump even more.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Bioengineering
Year
2025
Authors
Zhibo Jing, Hong Han, Jianda Han, Juanjuan Zhang
Related Content
Claims (6)
When healthy young men walk at 5 km/h on flat ground while wearing a weighted vest, their energy use increases more than proportionally as the weight goes above 15 kg, and their heart rate increases in direct proportion to the added weight.
When healthy young men walk at 5 km/h on flat ground wearing a 10 kg vest, placing the weight on the upper back, lower back, or all over the torso does not change how much energy they use or how fast their heart beats.
When healthy young adult males walk uphill at a 5% steeper angle or 2 km/h faster while wearing a 10 kg vest, their metabolic rate increases.
When healthy young men walk at 5 km/h while wearing weighted vests, their heart rate rises steadily with each additional kilogram of weight.
When healthy young adult males walk at 5 km/h on flat ground while wearing a weighted vest, their energy use increases by 2.5 to 4.5 watts per kilogram of body weight for every additional kilogram of weight carried, compared to when they are at rest.
Walking while wearing a vest that weighs 15% of your body weight increases the amount of energy your body uses by 12% compared to walking without the vest.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.