The Exercise Pill
I think it was Ian who first pointed me to this article in The New York Times about the development of an exercise pill, although the conversation seems to have exploded everywhere. Let’s hop on that bandwagon! First, from the NYT article:
Aicar signals to the cell that it has burned off energy and needs to generate more. The drug is “pretty much pharmacological exercise,” Dr. Evans said. He said the drugs worked off a person’s genetics, pushing the body to an improved set-point otherwise gained only by strenuous training. “This is not just a free lunch,” he said. “It’s pushing your genome toward a more enhanced genetic tone that impacts metabolism and muscle function. So instead of inheriting a great set-point you are using a drug to move your own genetics to a more activated metabolic state.”
Rachel says:
Exercise, for me, works as a stress reducer and helps with my depression symptoms. Gardening, walking, hiking, cycling and rollerblading are all forms of meditation for me, and I love that sweaty and triumphant feeling that comes with a good workout. Plus, my husband and I don’t just powerwalk or hike together, we spend quality time with each other. Can a pill offer all that?
Weetabix says:
[I]f it raises your metabolism, how does it affect your lifespan? Would you age faster too? There are very few people who wouldn’t take the easy way out. Even Jillian Michaels admits that she hates working out but the results are worth it. I admit that if I thought I could get the effects of exercise while just working at my computer, I would seriously give it some consideration.
Cranky Fitness says:
Perhaps it’s because getting the benefits of exercise without actually suffering through it seems like cheating. It strikes me as somehow “unfair”–in a way that taking an antibiotic to keep from dying of an nasty infection does not.
If we’ve been doing our exercise all these years, especially if we’ve done a lot more than we felt like doing, then we should get credit! And people who skipped out and didn’t bother should be punished, right?
Like Rachel, I exercise for stress relief and my health and I enjoy it. But it’s a struggle for me to find time to work out three days a week; when I’m teaching in addition to my full-time job, my free time becomes almost nonexistent; I do feel I should exercise more—not for weight loss, but for the sake of fitness, endurance, and all of that good stuff. I wouldn’t give up my exercise routine, but would I supplement it with a magical metabolism enhancing pill? I’d definitely think about it.
What do you say?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Exercise, Personal, Question, Weight Loss
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I think I’d fear the side effects of long-term use too much. Not to mention the side effects of going off of it.
I agree with The Bald Soprano. I would rather just exercise the natural way. But of course my life is different from everyone else so I wouldn’t judge anyone for using it.
Given the massive amounts of medication, especially medication which is marketed to women, that we find out later makes the taker cry blood and then die horribly, I third the side effects comment.
I would be very concerned about the side effects.. and think exercise is important in and of itself, weight loss aside.
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Something about this smacks of phen-fen.
I have no problem with an exercise pill, assuming that it works. Few things (certainly not obesity) correlate to improvements in health indicies more than exercise. Assuming the benefits are the same, I’m all for making people’s lives as easy as possible, no matter how they choose to spend their time.
(And when I visit my parents in Pennsylvania, I’m happy the trip only takes 6 hours and doesn’t involve eating my friends as we cross dangerous mountains – so I suppose I’m lazy too.)
My guess is that there will always be additional achievements, only obtainable by athletes, that will allow them to remain as cocky as ever.
Three years ago, I’d probably agree with with you mo – but now, exercise is part of my life; I look forward to it as much as I look forward to going out to dinner at a nice restaurant. I don’t think that a pill could give me the buzz and energy that I get from a Body Jam or RPM class; nor could it give me the friends I’ve made through the gym.
My husband has a form of Muscular Dystrophy and cannot exercise. Over the past 20 years I have watched him get weaker and more tired and suffer the pain of constant fatigue. We are so excited about this possibility and only hope the pill becomes reality before it is too late for him to benefit from it. I see it as a quality of life enhancer for him and people like him with severe physical limitations. Living with him means I never bitch about getting to exercise; he would literally give his right arm to be able to hike or ride a bike or even to swim, much less stand up unaided.
In my dictionary “healthy exercise” occupies the same space as “healthy eating” – it is not-too-subtle code for fat-hatred. On that score, I am an exercise refusenik. Of course, I do move around when the urge to move kicks in… and it’s actually harder than you think to stay absolutely still! Have you ever tried it? The body will move when it wants to – sooner or later. Also, lacking servants to squeeze my toothpaste and peel my grapes, I do a lot of moving around in pursuit of daily maintenance and employment. An occasion to move purely for pleasure – for example dancing to music – or sharing a walk and conversation with another – is much welcomed. But exercise – no thanks. And if not on a treadmill, not in a gym, then certainly not in a pill.
Natural is always best. A pill cannot replace the marvelous system nature has put in place; and frankly, every time we screw with nature, we end up getting screwed right back. I’d be very suspicious of such a pill and would want to see longterm studies of its benefits, side effects, and results. And in the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be out walking on the trail with my hubby and dogs. ;)
I would want to know more about the side effects before deciding for sure. I have no problem getting in my 3-a-week at the gym. The problem is I need more than that, and don’t have the time for more. If I could supplement with something, it would be amazing. I still just have no energy and don’t feel good with what I’m doing now. I am eating well, but I think my metabolism hates me and just needs some kind of kick to make me not feel so lethargic and awful.
I enjoy exercising, and would do a lot more of it if I had time (I manage a fair amount, given that my bike is my default way of getting anywhere). But… I would consider taking something like this – well-tested – if it were a way to increase the benefits I get from exercise, and get more out of it.
I’m not athletic. I enjoy running around and cycling and lifting, but even when I have time to get really scientific about it over a period of months, I see other people improve much more than I do. And I think – looking at my non-sporty family – that this is genetic.
My belief in my genetic destiny isn’t going to make me sit down and do nothing (though that’s what I did in my teens) but given that I’m not a competitive athlete, would there be anything morally wrong with a shortcut to a higher level of fitness?
If I knew with absolute certainty that it was safe? I’d think about it.
I don’t know if I’d actually DO it, but I’d think about it.
If I knew it was safe, AND I could actually take the damned things, which is unlikely because I cannot swallow pills, I might take a minimal amount of them as a supplement to my normal lifestyle.
I mean, if they actually work, why not? I don’t see why anyone would go ‘Oh, I’m taking The Exercise Pill so I’ll just not go swimming today’… I think people who want to go swimming will do so anyway. People who absolutely hate exercise and are forcing themselves through it painfully because they think they have to might decide to stop in favor of the pill, but in that case… so what? I’d rather they be happy.
I wouldn’t try to make myself Super Fit via pills, because I don’t see the point. But if they were a safe proven health boost, then a little boost is fine by me.
Gamer Girl, I’m with you on the not being able to swallow pills thing. So I guess I change my vote to wanting to see some testing and side effects results and it should be made in liquid form or maybe those strips that dissolve in your mouth… lol I’m a pain in the butt. Doctors hate me.
I would so not jump on that bandwagon until years down the line.
But that comment from the woman who says that people who haven’t exercised should be punished (I’m assuming she meant by our bodies) seems overly annoying.
Um… doesn’t the NYT make it sound like it’s going to change your genes? Because changing the genes of an adult animal is, like, completely impossible? That’s why that episode of Star Trek where everyone de-evolves into spiders and lizards and monkeys doesn’t actually make sense.
Honestly? I’d let it be out for about a year, then I’d use it to supplement my routine. I don’t like the idea of a free ride, but if something can help me out with my metabolism so I can actually eat some of the things I want, then I want on that train!! CHOO CHOO!!
I struggle with exercise as it seriously hurts my knees so I stick to water aerobics (which I love) so I have to admit, aside from the fact that I enjoy water aerobics I would consider this but probably fear the side effects as well.
on a very happy and related note: I looked up different types of exercise for tracking purposes (just started Weight Watchers) and found out that SEX burns as many calories as water aerobics!!!!! I suggest screw the pill and …..well…….screw!
i’m with all those sensible people who have pointed out that the drug has yet to be fully studied, ie who knows what else it might do??
were it proved to be safe i think i’d try it since i have a number of chronic health issues that predispose me to putting on weight so a little bit of help to lose some is only fair… right?
a point that most of the media on the pill seems to missing is that the pill doesn’t exercise for you, rather it makes your exercise more effective. so even if you take the pill you still need to exercise… not just for the weight benefits but also for all the other benefits that the pill can’t provide (eg increased lung capacity, improved peripheral blood flow, lowered blood pressure, etc etc etc).
so, i guess i’m hoping that the pill is safe….
Exercise in a pill? Next thing you know, we’ll have oxygen in a can!
While the idea of being able to still “exercise” when injured, like I am now, is appealing, there is something about it that is just…wrong. Physical exercise does wonders for your body, mind and spirit and I would miss that if I stopped exercising.
Just one of those things that makes me go hmmmm….. :)
I love the benefits of exerise. When I’m on a regular regimen, I feel happier, think more clearly, and have more energy.
But I hate the actual act of exercising, in just about every form I’ve yet to encounter. Just hate it. No fun at all. Absolute torture. I wish I could have a different perception of it, but it is what it is to me.
Do they have a pill for that?
I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished to have the body of a lingerie model without having to work out or watch my diet.
I’d try it. But my Jack Russell and my Chihuahua/Lhasa Apso pup would NOT let me weasel out of the two jogs a day we require just to keep the pups from chewing holes through the plaster.
I would SO take it if it was TOTALLY safe in the short and long term, with no side effects.
But I think I would be too scared of some heart-weakening or cancer-causing side effect that wouldn’t be discovered until people had died.
Problem number one: This has only been tested on mice
Problem number two: The study only tested one variable (endurance) as good, scientifically valid studies do.
Problem number three: The “exercise pill” will have little to no influence on weight
Problem number four: (not really a problem, just addressing another of the comments) The pill does not effect genes, it effects the various inhibiters that control what sections of genes are used.
Problem number five: We are looking at a monogenic treatment. Exercise is a polygenic determined function, as is metabolism.
I could go on. Seriousely, this has been blown WAY out of preportion.
You KNOW if it gets approved, healthy people will take it right along with people who have Parkinson’s and desperately need a way to strengthen their bodies. So if it gets approved, we will have guinea pigs whether we think that’s a great idea or not, and I for one will wait to see what happens to them.
If it turned out to be safe and free of scary side-effects, I would take it to improve my performance. I ride horses, and they are always going to have an athletic advantage over me, especially since I have a really hard time increasing my cardio capacity regardless of how fit I get strength-wise. I’d love a little pill that could help me not be ten times as exhausted as my horse is at the end of a cross-country jumping course. You always see riders gasping for air as they slide off their horses at the finish line, while the horses are like “Hey, that was coooolllll, let’s do that again!” and it’s totally not fair. :)
When I first heard about this pill, I thought “Well here comes another marginally FDA approved drug, ready to sit atop GNC shelves.”
I’d want a lot more information and this pill sounds a bit too much like a miracle cure, but if it worked like the blurb it could be great in some circumstances.
When I was young my hulking Rugby playing dad slipped a disk while working as a nurse. He had to have surgery for it, the surgery went wrong and gave him nerve damage, and basically for a very long time it was painful for him to walk. Used as he was to a lot of exercise he found it hard to suddenly eat a lot less, and got pretty big, very quickly, which made it even more difficult for him to get around. Basically the only exercise he could enjoy was butterfly stroke swimming. He was prescribed a tens machine (for electrical stimulation of the muscles) to try and stop the muscle wastage in his legs but it didn’t work very well – an “exercise pill” could have helped a lot if it made him feel generally fitter, less top-heavy and helped him get mobile again.
Dad has been able to walk reasonably well for a few years, though with a heavy limp. However, he did decide to go through bariatric surgery about a year ago – says it worked well for him – as he despaired of being able to do all the exercise required to lose weight healthily, and would have to eat virtually nothing to lose much weight without exercise. If a drug that boosted his metabolism was available, he might have recovered more quickly and avoided surgery.