There’s A Drug That Mimics the Health Benefits Of Exercise

Science makes strides so you don’t have to.

Let me start by killing most of your hopes and dreams: Your days of cardio are not over. The drug in question doesn’t make you lose weight. But scientists from Deakin University in Melbourne have been working on a remedy to combat and prevent heart disease—for which exercise has long been a non-drug prescription. Over a decade ago, the research team at Deakin began research with the specific goal of replicating the effects of exercise. Last week, the team published their findings in Cell Reports, and the conclusions are staggering. Thus far, the team has tested the drug only on mice. Overweight mice who were given the drug no longer show signs of cardiovascular disease. The conclusions are exciting—to say the least—as they could mean huge health benefits for those with obesity and type-2 diabetes. Right now, the researchers are working to refine the drug for human use. They hope it will be available in five to ten years. The breakthrough is a huge win for medical science, but don’t throw away your stair stepper just yet. You see, the mice did not lose weight. Sean McGee, associate professor of medical biology at the school, explained, “Although it increases energy expenditure and fat burning, mice treated with the drug also ate a little bit more, meaning they remained weight stable.” The brains at the University of Sydney have begun work, though, on a drug that precisely replicates the effects of exercise. This other drug has been in the works for about a year and is intended to serve those with serious health limitations, such as the elderly or those who struggle with physical exercise.