I’ve been reading Cranky Fitness, Diet-Blog, and Reuters….
And I learned that researchers have created two pills that mimic the effects of exercise.
Researchers are on the brink of something BIG here guys. Soon couch potatoes will rest easy on their plump butts and just pop a pill to take care of that pesky recommended daily exercise.
“One of the pills may some day help people enhance their exercise or training, while the other might be more suited for couch potatoes who need to kick-start themselves,” said Evans [one of those researchers] in the Reuters article. Well, at least this statement makes sense.
“If you like exercise, you like the idea of getting more bang for your buck,” Evans said in a statement. “If you don’t like exercise, you love the idea of getting the benefits from a pill.”
Personally I don’t think the pill could ever replace exercise or the benefits you receive from exercising. Sweating isn’t always comfortable, but can a pill ever replace that feeling of accomplishment you get after finishing a hard workout?
Most likely the pill will just enhance the results of exercise, which there are pills that already to that to some extent. I think some people who would take this exercise pill inevitably will end up upset when they don’t see instant results a pill can never deliver.
The development of these pills is actually kind of interesting but I hope people don’t think they can replace exercise altogether with a pill. Quick fixes short of surgery just don’t seem real.
I am not sure if the researchers agree with me, but at least they mention that the pill would make the exercise people do more efficient: “Almost no one gets the recommended 40 minutes to an hour per day of exercise. For this group of people, if there was a way to mimic exercise, it would make the quality of exercise that they do much more efficient.”
But maybe I am wrong in not wanting a pill to replace exercise and hard work. Maybe it is the world’s greatest breakthrough and an end to the obesity epidemic is in sight.
What do you think? Would you take it?
Okay, seriously? That’s just ridiculous. I would rather the side effects of sitting on my couch compared to:
sore throat, watery eyes, stomach cramps, diarrhea, constipation, nerve damage, inability to walk, confusion, insomnia, hostility, nausea, fever, loss of hair, breathlessness, asthma, muscle soreness, loss of eyesight, skin rash, cough, wheezing, blistering, peeling of skin, itching, tiredness, puffiness, weakness, unusual sores, and possibly death.
Drugs nowadays cause so many side effects, it’s just scary!!!
We all just need to GET OFF THE COUCH PEOPLE! Maybe for the morbidly obese individuals who are unable to get up, this would be worth it. I am just afraid if anything like this really came out, it would be abused.
I wouldn’t take it. Like Lynn says above, the side effects just aren’t worth it – exercise is supposed to be good for you. I mean what the hell, ‘loss of eyesight’, ‘nerve damage’, ‘possibly death’?!
I don’t think so.
I’d be tempted, to be honest. Just like I was tempted by the appetite suppressants my doctor offered me, or those pills that stop the absoption of fat.
But, you know, I’m actually doing okay on my own.
Mary, I heard about these pills too. I think it is total hogwash. Any kind of pharmaceutical that makes promises like that are usually fake or very dangerous. The logic of pills like these just doesn’t follow to me. It sounds absurd. Our bodies are made to move and exercise. That is nature.
I am sure we will hear more about this. However when they are available, I won’t be surprised if they either don’t work or people are getting heebie jeebie diseases after taking them!
No way! Stay active…eat smart! I like your site!
Mimic the effects of exercise – is that the effect that too much will cause a heart attack and death?
I think diet pills are scary enough… now an exercise pill. These researchers should be required to match funds spent on researching the pill to go to promoting physical education and recess in grade schools.
This is absolutely ridiculous. Sure, lets just add to the laziness of Americans. You know, I am really getting sick of this. The only way to lose weight in a healthy way is to eat right and exercise. That’s it people. Stop looking for the easy way out!