Get fit - by simply taking a pill

Imagine getting all the benefits of exercising every day - by simply taking a pill.

I know, it seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? I think we all like the idea of losing weight, getting fit and improving our muscle tone without even getting out of breath.

But, remarkably, it could soon become a reality. Scientists are currently working on a pill that help you get fit and lose weight - while sitting at your desk.

In fact, researchers have just tested the new drug - and the results have so far been very promising.

Ok, the bad news is that the tests have only been completed on mice. But they are confident the drug could be modified to work on humans.

So how does it work? Well, scientists who tested the drug say it changes the physical composition of muscle by basically changing the tissue from sugar-burning fast-twitch fibres to fat-burning slow-twitch ones - the same transformation which occurs in endurance athletes during their training.

So you could get all the health benefits of running or cycling for miles from the comfort of your own home. You could even put gym gear on if you want.

OK, so, like us, I am guessing you are not holding your breath. After all, it has only been successfully tested on rodents.

Not involved in the study, Dr. Benjamin Levine, a cardiologist who leads the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, shares our scepticism.

Speaking to LA Times reporter Alan Zarembo, he said: “The mouse doctors and cell biologists are, of course, quite enthusiastic about these things, but the human doctors are a little more reticent.”

But then again, it has never actually been tested on humans - so who knows what results can be achieved?

In the mice, those which took the pill lost weight and found they could run 44% longer on the treadmill than those that didn’t.

But could such results be replicated for humans?

Although not involved in the study, David Mangelsdorf, a pharmacologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, certainly thinks so.

“It’s an amazing piece of pharmacology,” he said.

“You’re getting the benefits of exercise without having to do any work.”

It’s also caused a bit of stir among athletes, who, keen to get any advantage they possibly can, have already contacted lead researcher Ronald Evans, a molecular physiologist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego about his findings.

But Evans- who four years ago hit the headlines when he helped develop ’super mice’ with stronger hearts and more efficient muscles - is more interested in creating a pill which can help treat muscle-wasting, obesity and keep bed-ridden patients fit.