Exercise in a pill? I'm not buying it
It's a tale of mice and men in scientific research. Will a pill that induces miracles in mice turn out to be a miracle pill for humans? We don't know. But always beware of pharmaceutical companies who come bearing miracle pills.
Sedentary mice that took the "miracle" exercise pill for four weeks burned more calories and had less fat than untreated mice. Put on a treadmill, they could run about 44 percent farther and 23 percent longer than untreated mice.
The drug, called AICAR, is in advanced human testing to see if it can prevent a complication of heart bypass surgery.
Previous experiments suggest that AICAR might guard against gaining weight on a high-fat diet. This could project out to be a boon in treating obesity in humans. But approval for that leap shouldn't happen without years of human clinical tests with careful monitoring of side effects and safety. Also, it is reasonable to state that no pill that is designed to aim for a single target in the body can duplicate the full array of desirable health benefits from exercise. For example, we wouldn't be able to expect AICAR to improve mood, cure fibromyalgia, or lower the risk for dementia in old age.
You can predict the future here if there is any measurable benefit for humans. There are no miracles, folks. Even if the pill does everything promised, it will still be more sensible for the majority of people to break an actual sweat several times a week rather than count on a pill and be content with a sedentary existence.
Researchers aren't sure of the science that produces apparent miracle effects in the mouse exercise pill. Just think about this quote from one of the researchers: "With no exercise, you can take a drug and chemically mimic it." My quote is this: "Be very careful about chemical mimicry."
