Pilates for weight loss: what it can and can't do

A couple of kilos, on average

Against doing nothing, Pilates took off about 2.4 kg in 11 small trials of adults with overweight or obesity, mostly women, and only in programmes longer than 10 weeks. Waist size and lean mass didn't change.

Source 1

Not every review agrees

In healthy-weight adults, mat Pilates changed body composition no more than control or other exercise, and in women it lowered BMI (body mass index) but not body fat or waist size.

Sources 2, 3

It burns little

A session is about 3 METs (metabolic equivalents, where sitting still is 1), roughly 2.9 calories a minute: 175 to 254 calories in a 50-minute class in one study. Brisk walking is 4.8 METs.

Sources 4, 5, 6

No exercise burns belly fat

Training one body part doesn't reduce the fat over it.

Source 7

Eating less and moving more do the work

Each extra 30 minutes a week of aerobic exercise took off about 0.5 kg, and exercise alone averages 2 to 3 kg. The UK Chief Medical Officers (CMO) say more than 150 minutes of activity a week plus eating less may be needed to lose weight.

Sources 8, 9, 10

What Pilates adds

It counts toward your two strength days, and strength work helps you keep muscle while you lose weight, although heavier resistance training does that best.

Sources 11, 9

Light intensity, by the numbersEmerging evidence

A 2026 review of 6 studies, mostly of young women, put a Pilates session at about 3 METs and 2.9 calories a minute as its most reliable estimate: about 170 calories an hour. The 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities lists traditional mat Pilates at 1.8 METs and general Pilates at 2.8.

In a study for the American Council on Exercise (ACE), a 50-minute mat class burned about 175 calories at beginner level and 254 at advanced level in women averaging about 63 kg, and in another study a reformer session used a little more than a matched mat session.

Sources 4, 12, 13, 5, 14

Per 50-minute class, by body weight

Our arithmetic, using calories = METs × weight in kg × hours, which includes the energy you'd use sitting anyway:

• Traditional mat Pilates (1.8 METs): about 90 calories at 60 kg, 105 at 70 kg and 120 at 80 kg.
• A reformer session in one study (2.5 METs): about 125, 146 and 167.
• General Pilates (2.8 METs): about 140, 163 and 187.
• The 2026 review's best estimate (3 METs): about 150, 175 and 200.
• Brisk walking, 3.5 to 3.9 mph (4.8 METs): about 240, 280 and 320.

Sources 12, 13, 14, 4, 6

Your number will differ

These are averages from small studies of young adults; your figure depends on your size, your level and how long you rest between moves. Take away the energy you'd use sitting anyway, and a 50-minute class at 2.8 METs adds only about 105 calories for a 70 kg person (our arithmetic).

Source 4

Shorter rests raise the burnEmerging evidence

In one study, mat Pilates with 2-minute rests ran at 1.8 METs, with short rests at 2.8, and in several sets with short rests at 3.1. Across studies, rests of 60 seconds or less went with higher intensity, though the analysis was too small to be sure.

Source 4

Why the scales move less than the arithmetic

Exercise alone takes off less than the calorie sums suggest: on average no more than 2 to 3 kg, according to European obesity guidance. Our exercise for weight loss guide explains why.

Source 9

Against doing nothing: about 2.4 kgEmerging evidence

Across 11 randomised trials (393 adults with overweight or obesity, 303 of them women), mostly 3 hour-long sessions a week for 8 to 24 weeks, Pilates took off 2.4 kg more than no exercise, lowered BMI by about 1.2 points and body fat by about 4 percentage points. Waist and lean mass didn't change.

Weight loss was clear only in programmes longer than 10 weeks (about 3.3 kg). Certainty was low to moderate for weight and lower for body fat, and none of the 11 trials compared Pilates with other exercise.

Source 1

In healthy-weight adults: no clear changeMixed evidence

In a review of 10 studies, mat Pilates was no better than control or other training for BMI, lean mass, body fat or waist size, including in older and overweight subgroups.

Source 2

In women: BMI fell, body fat didn'tMixed evidence

Across 12 studies of about 540 adult women, BMI fell by about 1.2 points, but body fat, waist and lean mass didn't change significantly.

Source 3

Pilates or walking?Emerging evidence

In an 8-week trial of adults with overweight or obesity, with 3 one-hour sessions a week and no diet change, neither Pilates nor walking changed body weight. On a body scan (DXA), Pilates lowered body fat from 50.9% to 49.1% and added lean mass; walking changed neither. The waist shrank by about 3 cm in both.

The trial was small, its control group wasn't randomised, and the Pilates group was older.

Source 15

Reformer Pilates: about 1.4 kg in 8 weeksEmerging evidence

In 47 women with overweight, supervised reformer classes 3 times a week for 8 weeks took off 1.4 kg, while the control group gained 0.3 kg. It has never been compared with cardio.

Source 16

A low dose does littleEmerging evidence

Twice-weekly Pilates or yoga for 8 weeks changed body composition in neither group, which the authors put down to the low total amount of exercise.

Source 17

No spot reductionStrong evidence

Across 13 studies (1,158 people), training one part of the body didn't reduce the fat over it. In a 6-week trial, 7 abdominal exercises done 5 days a week didn't change body fat, belly fat or waist size, even though curl-ups rose from 32 to 47.

Sources 7, 18

What does shrink the waistStrong evidence

Whole-body activity and eating less. Each extra 30 minutes a week of aerobic exercise trimmed the waist by about half a centimetre across 116 trials, and in the Pilates and walking trial both groups lost about 3 cm.

Sources 8, 15

Ab work still has a point

Pilates ab work builds endurance, about 10 more curl-ups a minute in trials, which helps your trunk rather than your waistline. Our Pilates for your core guide covers it.

Source 19

Brisk activity on most daysStrong evidence

Aerobic exercise does more for weight than strength work: each extra 30 minutes a week took off about 0.5 kg across 116 trials, and European obesity guidance advises moderate aerobic exercise for losing weight and fat. Start with the guideline: 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking at a pace where you can talk but not sing.

Sources 8, 9, 11

Eat a little lessStrong evidence

The UK Chief Medical Officers' 2026 evidence update says more than 150 minutes of activity a week, along with eating less, may be needed to lose weight. On average, exercise alone takes off no more than 2 to 3 kg.

Sources 10, 9

Keep the strength daysStrong evidence

To keep muscle while losing weight, European guidance advises resistance training at moderate to high intensity. Pilates counts as strength work, but mat work adds little load as you get stronger, so heavier reformer springs, bands or weights help.

Sources 9, 11, 20

Our editorial starting point

Two Pilates sessions a week with short rests, plus brisk walking or cycling on most days, building toward 150 minutes or more, and the eating changes in our exercise for weight loss guide. Our walk and Pilates workout puts a 20-minute brisk walk and a Pilates circuit in one session.

Sources 11, 4

Keeping it offStrong evidence

Activity helps you keep weight off after losing it, and it improves your health even when the scales don't move. Our exercise for weight loss guide covers how much activity that takes.

Source 10

From 2 or 3 classes a week on their own

If you have overweight, a kilo or two over 3 months is plausible, and possibly nothing, along with a stronger, more controlled trunk and perhaps a slightly smaller waist (our reading of the trials).

Sources 1, 16, 2, 15

Measure your waist too

In the Pilates and walking trial, the waist shrank while the scales barely moved, so track your waist as well as your weight. Our exercise for weight loss guide explains the waist-to-height check.

Source 15

Signs of an eating disorder: see a GP

The NHS lists signs such as spending a lot of time worrying about your weight and body shape, exercising too much, and having very strict habits or routines around food. If that sounds like you, see a GP as soon as you can. Beat, the UK eating disorder charity, has a helpline on 0808 801 0677.

Source 21

Yoga and Pilates don't protect against itEmerging evidence

In a survey of 2,287 young adults, women who did yoga or Pilates had disordered eating as often as those who didn't, and men who did them reported more extreme weight-control behaviours (18.6% against 6.8%). Set goals for strength, control and how you feel, not calories burned.

Source 22

Call 999 (911 in the US)

For chest pain that feels tight or like squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck or jaw; severe difficulty breathing, such as gasping, choking or not being able to get words out; lips or skin that turn pale, blue or grey; or if someone has passed out and isn't responding normally.

Source 23

Get help from NHS 111

If you're suddenly more short of breath than usual, or have chest pain with feeling sick or a racing, slow or fluttering heartbeat. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.

Source 23

Check with a GP before starting

If you're unsure whether the exercises suit your fitness, have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or you're pregnant or have recently given birth.

Source 24

Medicines for diabetes or weight loss

If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, exercise can bring on a hypo: see our type 2 diabetes guide. If you're on weight loss injections, see the exercise advice in our exercise for weight loss guide.

"Pilates burns belly fat"Strong evidence

No exercise burns fat from one spot: across 13 studies, training a body part didn't reduce the fat over it, and six weeks of daily ab work didn't shift belly fat.

Sources 7, 18

"Pilates is a fat-burning workout"Emerging evidence

A session is about 3 METs, roughly a slow walk, and the researchers in the ACE study concluded that the cardiovascular benefits of Pilates appear to be limited.

Sources 4, 25, 5

"Pilates tones you instead of slimming you"

"Toning" is muscle plus less fat. Muscles don't lengthen, and mat Pilates builds little muscle after the first weeks.

Source 20

"A 28-day Pilates challenge will melt fat"Emerging evidence

Pilates took off a couple of kilos at most against doing nothing, and only in programmes longer than 10 weeks: much longer than any 28-day challenge.

Source 1

"Reformer Pilates is the best exercise for weight loss"Emerging evidence

One small trial against no exercise found about 1.7 kg in 8 weeks, and it has never been compared with cardio. Aerobic exercise does more for weight.

Sources 16, 9

"If the scales don't move, Pilates isn't working"Emerging evidence

In an 8-week trial against walking, weight didn't change, but body fat, lean mass and waist size did.

Source 15