The fitness world just got a new prescription. Scientists have developed a pill that helps you burn calories without exercising one bit. So far only mice have benefited from this new exercise pill. It's tricked the rodents' muscles into thinking they've been working out, and their little bodies ended up burning calories without lifting a paw. It's also improved their fitness performance, helping mice run 68 percent longer and 70 percent farther than mice who exercised but didn't receive the drug. That's great news for those mousy couch potatoes who decide to get off their furry tushes and do a few laps around the cage.
Scientists aren't sure how this exercise pill called AICAR would work on the human population, but they're hoping a drug like this could help treat people suffering from obesity, diabetes, or other injuries and conditions that make it difficult to exercise regularly. While that is all well and good, it seems like the majority of people who'll want this magic pill will be able-bodied individuals looking for a way to skip out on their morning jog. Or it may be sought after by fitness fanatics and athletes who want to improve their endurance, or get an edge over their competition.
This pill, as amazing as it sounds, can only help to mimic aerobic activity, but a person will still need to strength train in order to tone their muscles. Also, besides burning calories, I can think of so many other reasons that exercise is necessary. It keeps your heart healthy, boosts your confidence, prevents depression and osteoporosis, and gives you time to yourself — you can't fulfill all that in a pill. So what do you think about this exercise drug? Would you take it?
3.1 Phillip Lim
Pedro Garcia
Rocket Dog
Hmm well what exactly is going into these 'exercise pills'? I mean, they sound a bit like Purple Hearts...
1And yeah, I reckon people will take them as a substitue for exercise.
sounds horrible..
2i guess this could help some people who really can't exersice.. but surely other, healthy people would want to get a hold of this pill.
something that tricks your mind into thinking anything just doesn't sound healthy for you AT ALL.
It's got to have some serious side effects, it doesn't sound very safe...
3If this was totally safe (which we have no way of knowing at this point) I'd go for it. If you're trying to lose weight you could use it as supplement, not a substitute. (If it's safe) I also think it would help with the obesity epidemic because people that are so overweight that any level of exercise is close to impossible for them would have something to help them during the earlier stages.
I will say that I have my doubts that this will ever be legal. If it does become legal, I can picture it being abused a lot by the younger set (girls 13-23 or so). If this had been available I bet at least half of my friends from High School would've been taking this (even though they were already at a healthy weight).
4I honestly avoid using drugs at all costs. I will even try to fight a cold on my own and refuse to take anything unless I'm still in bed after 2 weeks. So, this pill seems scary. I don't want something in muscles mimicking physical activity! Like...How insane! & These pills seem like they would have some scary side effects...Eeek!
5I wonder what effect taking this drug would have on athletes who are already in shape. Would it improve their performance as well? Their might be potential for abuse as a performance enhancer at all levels.
6I agree with em113 that if this was safe, I would totally use it as a supplement. I love to exercise, so I wouldn't give that up, but it would be great to be able to do it for longer with greater intensity. I also would love to be able to burn more calories when not exercising! I also agree that this probably will never be FDA-approved ... or at least not in the foreseeable future.
7If it were safe, I'd at least give it a try, but only as a supplement, not a substitute.
Beyond anything else, I love the high that I get from exercise. And I don't think that you can get that same high from a pill.
8I'm with smarler - I'd try them as a supplement but not a substitute.
They could really help people with slow metabolisms who work out but still can't seem to drop the weight.
9well, i do strength training, but i rarely do cardio.
where i live, the air is bad outside.
i do ride my bike to church services on sunday and wednesday about 3 miles each way.
but at home i lift free weights, and i have a weight machine too.
eventually i will join the gym, and start off slow maybe on an elliptical machine for cardio, but if that pill does work with people, i don't think i would use it. but if i did, i wonder if a lower dose still has a positive effect. i'm not a pill popper, so i rather stay all natural. so.. no rush from me to get some of this..
maybe it will help people who struggle to lose weight..
but i would prescribe as a last resort, after trying exercise first.
not exercising is just asking for health problems anyways..
10This is stupid. Everyone, pretty much everywhere in the world is getting lazier by the minute. Also, a lot more girls and guys will find it easier to be skinnier by taking these pills if they're anorexic.
11hahahaha
CHANCLETA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
everybody run!
(incoming..
)
my mom used to hit me..
hahaha
(inside joke)
12I guess it could be sort of ok for the people it's meant for, but I'm sure people who don't need it would end up using it. I rather do exercise. Our bodies were created to move around, not to sit around and depend on pills for physical activity effects.
13Well we've heard of the "Easy Button", I guess now we have the "Easy Pill"...
I can see how it could benefit people that are morbidly obese. However, the amazing part of the journey in losing weight is finding that strength inside yourself and seeing what you can do with it. If you don't find that strength you will never truly repsect yourself for you what you have done. Just my opinion.
14NO I would NOT take it. I can't understand why LAZY people don't get UP and GO EXERCISE! I'm convinced that there would be less people on anti-depressants and other drugs if they were all required to run at least 2 miles a day. The "HIGH" that you get from it is better than almost anything. This might be feasible for someone who needs to lose lbs. for surgery, but for normal people it's a HORRIBLE idea! I could not give up my 3 miles a day and the strength that I feel because of it. Imagine no one wanting to exercise anymore - we'd all be gobs of THIN goo!
15Furthermore - why not just get people to eat less or more properly than giving them an easy boost?
16What about the mortality rates of the mice taking the drug as opposed to those not taking it? Side effects? Overall health of the mice as opposed to the control group?
Drugs always have side effects. I can't wait to see what they are for this one (although it will probably get approved first and then people will start dying off 20 years later).
17I actually did a bit of research on this drug during my PhD, and it activates an enzyme normally turned on during exercise. I'm a bit rusty, but I seem to remember that it actually raises metabolism, therefore burning more glucose, leading to lactate release. The studies I saw all had high levels of lactate - which after exercise is broken down since you've still got elevated blood flow and are moving, but if you're sedentary, it can actually start to hurt the muscle. I haven't read this recent research yet, but I have a feeling its still a fair way from being commercially available, and would probably need to be taken in conjunction with exercise (in which case, what's the point!) or in a drug cocktail to get rid of the lactate.
18Probably more info than most of you want. For the record, while I've done research into this, I'm definitely of the opinion exercise and healthy living are better. Maybe there's a TINY group of people completely unable to exercise that this might benefit - though the majority of people using this if it were available would be using it for the wrong reasons.
AICAR licensed by Schering-Plough Corp. is currently studied in humans to help control bleeding during open-heart surgery. GW1516 used to be developed by GlaxoSmithKline as a drug against dyslipidemia, a disorder affecting cholesterol. However, side effects of the drug, made the company give up producing it.
Now once the Dr Evans have started testing the drug at animal level we should be aware of the side effects it does carry along.Most of the times such reactions can affect the biological switches in human body.
Aicar and biotivia's transmax resveratrol, a concentrated form of red wine extract, work in essentially the same way,through the activation of genetic alterations which cause beneficial changes to one's cardio vascular system, mitochondrial function, muscle efficiency and a number of other physiological systems. This is why Glaxo recently bought Dr. Sinclair's startup resveratrol development pharma for almost one billion dollars. The future of human performance lies very much in further development of these compounds and additional ones that target specific genes. They are not substitutes for exercise and a healthy lifestyle however.
19I wouldn't use it as a substitute for exercise, but if it helps improve athletic performance, I might use it as a supplement. But only if it's completely safe and has no side effects. Otherwise, it's not worth it. I think there are WAY too many lazy obese people that could exercise that just don't and I think some of them would have potential to abuse this. There are very, very few people that can NOT exercise at all. I could also see it being sort of useful for injured people who can't work out for a while...they could take this to help combat weight gain from being unusually sedentary.
20Evalicious - Not everybody gets a "runner's high" or exercise "high" like you do. I'm training for a marathon, and even though I'm proud of myself every day that I get up and run, I'm not a natural runner by any means, and I've never experienced the high that everyone talks about.
Being fat is not just about being lazy. Please try and remember that. (Though I will admit that there are some people that "lazy" is their only excuse.)
21Uhhhh... I'm sorry, but if it was 100% safe and minimal side effects, I would use it. Hello! I could run 68% longer? Yes please! Also I might use it on days that I had that slice of cheesecake after dinner out on the town, or when I'm a little hung over and don't fee like making it to the gym.
But would it replace my exercise regimen? Of course not.
22GIMME IT. ♥
23lol
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