In the workout world, it has undoubtedly been the year of the weighted vest. These once-specialized devices have taken a long, strange journey — from military boot camps to actors’ superhero movie training regimens to mall-walking moms and grandmas in the suburbs. As so many once-specialized things do in the social media age, they’ve escaped the containment of their original context.

Recent research has questioned whether weighted vests are truly an antidote to bone-density loss. Jaclyn McKenna, MD, sports medicine physician at HSS said it certainly could help: “By adding load, you burn more energy, recruit more muscle fibers, and place greater stress on your bones and joints. This can help slow bone loss and reduce fall risk as we age,” she explained. But the evidence for other touted benefits of weighted vests, she cautioned, like improved core strength and brain health, is limited.

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