02/04/2026
This is how research gets misrepresented—and women pay the price.
A recent podcast in the perimenopause/menopause space cited a study on weighted vests and bone density… and completely distorted the takeaway.
Here’s what the study actually did:
Three groups of older women performed the same strength exercises:
• Bodyweight only
• Bodyweight on a vibration plate
• Bodyweight with a weighted vest
The weighted vest group saw the greatest improvement in bone density.
Why? More load during strength training = stronger bones.
What the study did not test:
❌ Walking in a weighted vesting
❌ Wearing a vest while doing chores
❌ Daily low-intensity movement with added weight
Yet that’s exactly what’s being recommended on this podcast and online.
That leap—from loaded strength training to vest walks—is not supported by research. At all. Never once has there been such a study.
What is supported by decades of data?
• Lifting heavy weights
• 5–12 reps
• Near muscular failure
• 2–3x per week
That’s how bone density improves.
Not vest walks.
Not yoga alone.
Not running.
We need to stop doing women a disservice by oversimplifying something as serious as osteoporosis.
Right now:
• 1 in 5 women over 50 has osteoporosis
• By 80 that number jumps to 70%
When influential voices oversimplify science, women are left believing they’re “doing enough” when that’s simply untrue.
If you want the real, evidence-based steps to protect and build your bones, grab my free Bone Density Fact Sheet.
👉 Link in my bio.
Your future self is counting on the choices you make now.