Lose weight and reduce cholesterol with … rubber bands?

No sweaty aerobic workouts! No dumbbells or weight machines or a gym! Just get yourself some of those colourful big rubber exercise bands — which are much more appealing and accessible for many people who want those benefits.

A new meta-analysis by Saez-Berlanga et al. pooled data from 23 trials and reported that elastic‑band resistance training (EBRT) produces meaningful reductions in body fat, fat mass, total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose and blood pressure … and a boost for HDL. Yahtzee.

And metabolic health upgrades are highly relevant to musculoskeletal health and pain. Seriously.

The subjects were older, mostly sedentary adults at risk of metabolic syndrome. The authors pooled 23 trials including 1,134 participants (average age 70.4 years; 92% women) and searched literature through September 2024.

Compared with non‑active controls, EBRT produced modest but consistent improvements in body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors. Body fat percentage fell (~1.44 percentage points), and fat mass fell by ~1.6 kg. Total cholesterol dropped by 18.2 mg/dL and LDL by 11.0 mg/dL. Triglycerides dropped ~12 mg/dL. HDL rose by 2.4 mg/dL. Fasting glucose decreased ~9 mg/dL. Blood pressure fell, systolic −7.7 mmHg, diastolic −5.5 mmHg.

The authors found minimal evidence of publication bias. This is relatively straightforward science, and completely unsurprising — we've known for a long time that resistance training is generally just as good as aerobic workouts. Exercise is exercise. Muscles are endocrine organs that, when stimulated, produce all kinds of healthy signals. And you can stimulate muscles perfectly well by pumping rubber instead of iron.

Elastics aren't for everyone, of course. This is just another option, and it’s nice to have those, but there are many others — that's really part of the point. Always aim to be active in whatever way suits you best! Perhaps you prefer a nice music dance experience, for instance. But for many, a basket of big rubber bands in the TV room is a way nicer option than a rack of iron at the gym.