A pill that can help you lose weight without diet or exercise?

Imagine eating as much as you want and losing weight. Imagine getting in shape without pounding the treadmill.

It may seem like a pipe dream now - something that usually only happens to annoying slim friends - but it could soon become a reality.

In fact, such a miracle fat-fighter could already exist – as a handy pill designed to lower blood pressure.
So how does it work? Well, the pill is designed to speed up your metabolism and burn fat - without the need to pick up a dumbbell or give up on your favourite fatty foods.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, you are right to be sceptical - because the bad news is it’s only been successfully tested on mice so far. Genetically-altered mice at that.

The breakthrough was made by researchers in Australia, who wanted to find out exactly what angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) does to the body. What is known is that ACE constricts blood vessels and therefore raises blood pressure. So pills which block the enzyme - ACE inhibitors – can help sufferers of hypertension.

However, the enzyme has also been linked with fat accumulation. Cue, Dr Michael Mathai, of the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne, and his team to find out more.

What they did was genetically engineer mice to lack the ACE gene. These rodents turned out to weigh 20 per cent less than normal mice and have 50-60 percent less body fat, despite eating the same amount.
They also managed to clear excess sugar from their blood faster – which means they were less prone to diabetes.

Not exactly ace that ACE then? Now imagine if you could restrict your ACE. You could eat whatever you like and still stay in shape. But before you grab your wallet or purse and rush off to the chemists, just bear in mind two things. Firstly, they are only on prescription and the dose required for it to work on a human is still unknown. Secondly, you are not a mouse.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dr Matthias said: “The drugs are out there because they are used for hypertension.

“So we know their safety and their tolerability. What we don’t know is whether or not they will work in humans.

“I don’t think this will replace the need for careful control of diet and encouraging more exercise.

“If people look at increasing their food intake then all that will do is cancel out the beneficial effects of increasing metabolic rate.”

Source: The New Scientist