iStockphoto
There aren’t many medical experts out there who’d deny the well-documented benefits of exercising, and lazy people will be thrilled to hear a group of scientists may have discovered a potential cheat code in the form of a pill that could provide the same upsides with infinitely less effort.
It would be a stretch to suggest the majority of people who exercise on a regular basis genuinely enjoy the work that goes into staying in shape. Sure, you might experience a “runner’s high” or enjoy the endorphin rush that can accompany a solid lifting session, but those brief surges of positive energy tend to be accompanied by a fair amount of pain and suffering.
Anyone who’s familiar with the hype surrounding Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs knows they’ve been positioned as a fairly low-effort way to shed some pounds, and while they’ve certainly helped people get healthier, they don’t provide the same kind of cardiovascular benefits you’re going to get from hitting the gym on a regular basis.
According to the American Chemical Society, a team of researchers led by Dr. Bahaa Elgendy at the Washington University School of Medicine think they’ve discovered a potentially revolutionary solution concerning that second point, as they spent close to a decade developing SLU-PP-332, a compound with the ability to activate “estrogen-related receptors,” a type of protein the body releases during exercise.
The scientists who developed the compound have only tested it on lab mice. However, a study conducted with the help of treadmills designed for rodents “increased a fatigue-resistant type of muscle fiber” that improved endurance, and they have other evidence that suggests SLU-PP-332 could ” benefit against obesity, heart failure or a decline in kidney function with age.”
Elgendy and his team are especially interested in the impact a pill containing SLU-PP-332 could have when it comes to people with diseases and conditions that make it difficult (or impossible) for them to exercise.
Of course, Ozempic was originally designed to lower the blood sugar of people with Type 2 Diabetes before going mainstream, and it’s safe to assume there would be plenty of demand for a so-called “exercise pill” if it shows promise in human subjects.