4 ms·

New 'Exercise Pill' Could Induce Fitness Benefits Without Exercise

8 points by walterbell 3y ago

ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
I'm sceptical that we know enough about human metabolism that this kind of pill would provide all the health benefits of exercise without nasty side effects. Would this kind of thing also affect mitochondrial biogenesis?
- chiefalchemist 3y ago
  Agreed. There's certain to be side effects, unintended consequences, etc. It's a balloon grab. But the public loves convenience. They love short cuts. Why control and discipline yourself when a pill can fix everything. That mindset alone is far from ideal. Into the pods we go. The Matrix isn't as sci-fi as it once seemed to be.
  - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
    > But the public loves convenience. They love short cuts. Why control and discipline yourself when a pill can fix everything. That mindset alone is far from ideal. I don't have a problem with the "laziness" angle (despite being a keen cyclist myself) as we have many different shortcuts to health that could be considered "lazy" such as adding vitamins/nutrients to foods to make it easier for people to not suffer deficiencies. It could be considered "lazy" to have pasteurised milk etc. Edit: Also there's people with disabilities that can make it much harder to exercise.
    - chiefalchemist 3y ago
      First, I didn't use the word lazy. Second, of course there are exceptions (e.g., disabilities). That said, we have to wonder if the push to make obesity a disease is to legitimize the market, and a massive market - no pun intended - is is. Big Pharma loves big markets. Finally, True Story 1: Approx 5 yrs ago I met a friend and her colleague for dinner. They do med / pharma research. The friend was working on something diabetes related. I asked, "Why isn't the treatment to change their diet and lifestyle?" The direct answer was, "They don't do it. It's not going to happen." True Story 2: My parents are on meds that are only necessary because they don't want to change their diet and lifestyle. I have friends with parents on meds for the same reasons. I don't know why. I don't know how. I'm not being a critic. But at this point people are people and 9 out of 10 times it's pills over diet or lifestyle change. I wish I could say otherwise.
  - snapplebobapple 3y ago
    I dont really see a problem with doing some basic safety testing and then letting those with poor will power or dire need be guinea pigs for a decade or two before i try it. Seems like a really good system honestly, as long as the guinea pigs are aware of the risk of trying a new drug
    - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
      Except that the company selling the pills will hide the risks away and so it'll end up being a tax on unhealthy people. There's also people with disabilities that can have a much harder time exercising than other people - seems unfair to use them as guinea pigs.
      - chiefalchemist 3y ago
        Or better, just add another pill to offset the side effects of the first one.
      - snapplebobapple 3y ago
        As an unhealthy person, I'm ok with that. A tax on unhealthy people today is a benefit to future unhealthy people who then know what happened to the previous unhealthy people. As a current unhealthy person, it often seems a better wage to try something knew at the risk of getting worse for the promise of getting better. Everybody wins on absolute or expected grounds.
    - stemlord 3y ago
      One of the guinea pigs might end up being someone you love
- almatabata 3y ago
  The article only mentions things related to muscle endurance and strength. I do not see anything related to improvement in mental health, which is one of the reasons a lot of people exercise (myself included). It would be interesting if they could measure things like motivation and happiness on that pill as well.
  - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
    > I do not see anything related to improvement in mental health, which is one of the reasons a lot of people exercise (myself included). Absolutely. The improvement of mood after exercising in green spaces is often under-stated. Exercise doesn't just have to be about building strength and fitness. To be fair, a pill doesn't have to provide all the benefits of exercise to still be useful, but it would be a concern if people took it as a replacement for exercise as opposed to those people who don't exercise for whatever reason. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Active Travel as it's such an easy way to get a lot of people to exercise and also interact with their environment in a way that you don't get if you just sit in a vehicle and watch the world through a pane of glass. (Also has the benefit of reducing traffic congestion and is very time efficient compared to commuting and then going to a gym).
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
insickness 3y ago
From Wikipedia: SLU-PP-332 is a compound which is a potent but non-selective estrogen-related receptor (ERR) agonist, acting most strongly at ERRα with an EC50 of 98 nM. It was found to counteract metabolic syndrome in mice, suggesting a possible role for compounds from this class as medications for the treatment of obesity.
4b11b4 3y ago
laughable
srameshc 3y ago
Most of the drugs have side effects and this might have as well. But this could be very benificial for the ones who can't exercise for medical or other reasons.
xenospn 3y ago
Sounds like a headline from 1956.
slowmovintarget 3y ago
This obsession with trying to find a pill for just going for a walk three times a week is really what's killing us. Exercise reduces inflammation, changes body composition, helps you sleep better, improves mental state, helps you avoid diabetes, changes your appetite... We were meant to exercise, it's how our body functions properly. Shortcuts will always have unintended consequences, not the least of which is a diminishing of will-power, which also requires exercise (in a different sense).
- ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
  Whilst I agree, not everyone is able-bodied enough to exercise - even just walking which is an under-appreciated form of exercise. If it works, this pill could be invaluable for those that are bed-ridden.
  - slowmovintarget 3y ago
    If this compound is developed into a treatment, I do hope that people who actually need it. I also hope, but would be shocked, that people who should and could just exercise actually don't get it, that we don't have the same circus as with Ozempic. "I don't have to be disciplined, I can just take this pill, lol." The drug companies are rubbing their hands together and licking their lips for the latter, while claiming they're doing it for the former. I believe the scientists are in it for the people that need it, but if this gets developed into a drug or treatment, I have little faith that it will be as restricted as it ought to be.
antisthenes 3y ago
We already have this pill. It's called steroids. Although based on the article, this seems more about burning fat, rather than gaining muscle, which isn't as useful.

8 points by walterbell 3y ago

I'm sceptical that we know enough about human metabolism that this kind of pill would provide all the health benefits of exercise without nasty side effects. Would this kind of thing also affect mitochondrial biogenesis?

chiefalchemist 3y ago
Agreed. There's certain to be side effects, unintended consequences, etc. It's a balloon grab. But the public loves convenience. They love short cuts. Why control and discipline yourself when a pill can fix everything. That mindset alone is far from ideal. Into the pods we go. The Matrix isn't as sci-fi as it once seemed to be.
- ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
  > But the public loves convenience. They love short cuts. Why control and discipline yourself when a pill can fix everything. That mindset alone is far from ideal. I don't have a problem with the "laziness" angle (despite being a keen cyclist myself) as we have many different shortcuts to health that could be considered "lazy" such as adding vitamins/nutrients to foods to make it easier for people to not suffer deficiencies. It could be considered "lazy" to have pasteurised milk etc. Edit: Also there's people with disabilities that can make it much harder to exercise.
  - chiefalchemist 3y ago
    First, I didn't use the word lazy. Second, of course there are exceptions (e.g., disabilities). That said, we have to wonder if the push to make obesity a disease is to legitimize the market, and a massive market - no pun intended - is is. Big Pharma loves big markets. Finally, True Story 1: Approx 5 yrs ago I met a friend and her colleague for dinner. They do med / pharma research. The friend was working on something diabetes related. I asked, "Why isn't the treatment to change their diet and lifestyle?" The direct answer was, "They don't do it. It's not going to happen." True Story 2: My parents are on meds that are only necessary because they don't want to change their diet and lifestyle. I have friends with parents on meds for the same reasons. I don't know why. I don't know how. I'm not being a critic. But at this point people are people and 9 out of 10 times it's pills over diet or lifestyle change. I wish I could say otherwise.
- snapplebobapple 3y ago
  I dont really see a problem with doing some basic safety testing and then letting those with poor will power or dire need be guinea pigs for a decade or two before i try it. Seems like a really good system honestly, as long as the guinea pigs are aware of the risk of trying a new drug
  - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
    Except that the company selling the pills will hide the risks away and so it'll end up being a tax on unhealthy people. There's also people with disabilities that can have a much harder time exercising than other people - seems unfair to use them as guinea pigs.
    - chiefalchemist 3y ago
      Or better, just add another pill to offset the side effects of the first one.
    - snapplebobapple 3y ago
      As an unhealthy person, I'm ok with that. A tax on unhealthy people today is a benefit to future unhealthy people who then know what happened to the previous unhealthy people. As a current unhealthy person, it often seems a better wage to try something knew at the risk of getting worse for the promise of getting better. Everybody wins on absolute or expected grounds.
  - stemlord 3y ago
    One of the guinea pigs might end up being someone you love
almatabata 3y ago
The article only mentions things related to muscle endurance and strength. I do not see anything related to improvement in mental health, which is one of the reasons a lot of people exercise (myself included). It would be interesting if they could measure things like motivation and happiness on that pill as well.
- ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
  > I do not see anything related to improvement in mental health, which is one of the reasons a lot of people exercise (myself included). Absolutely. The improvement of mood after exercising in green spaces is often under-stated. Exercise doesn't just have to be about building strength and fitness. To be fair, a pill doesn't have to provide all the benefits of exercise to still be useful, but it would be a concern if people took it as a replacement for exercise as opposed to those people who don't exercise for whatever reason. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Active Travel as it's such an easy way to get a lot of people to exercise and also interact with their environment in a way that you don't get if you just sit in a vehicle and watch the world through a pane of glass. (Also has the benefit of reducing traffic congestion and is very time efficient compared to commuting and then going to a gym).
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

insickness 3y ago

From Wikipedia: SLU-PP-332 is a compound which is a potent but non-selective estrogen-related receptor (ERR) agonist, acting most strongly at ERRα with an EC50 of 98 nM. It was found to counteract metabolic syndrome in mice, suggesting a possible role for compounds from this class as medications for the treatment of obesity.

4b11b4 3y ago

laughable

srameshc 3y ago

Most of the drugs have side effects and this might have as well. But this could be very benificial for the ones who can't exercise for medical or other reasons.

xenospn 3y ago

Sounds like a headline from 1956.

slowmovintarget 3y ago

This obsession with trying to find a pill for just going for a walk three times a week is really what's killing us. Exercise reduces inflammation, changes body composition, helps you sleep better, improves mental state, helps you avoid diabetes, changes your appetite... We were meant to exercise, it's how our body functions properly. Shortcuts will always have unintended consequences, not the least of which is a diminishing of will-power, which also requires exercise (in a different sense).

ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
Whilst I agree, not everyone is able-bodied enough to exercise - even just walking which is an under-appreciated form of exercise. If it works, this pill could be invaluable for those that are bed-ridden.
- slowmovintarget 3y ago
  If this compound is developed into a treatment, I do hope that people who actually need it. I also hope, but would be shocked, that people who should and could just exercise actually don't get it, that we don't have the same circus as with Ozempic. "I don't have to be disciplined, I can just take this pill, lol." The drug companies are rubbing their hands together and licking their lips for the latter, while claiming they're doing it for the former. I believe the scientists are in it for the people that need it, but if this gets developed into a drug or treatment, I have little faith that it will be as restricted as it ought to be.

antisthenes 3y ago

We already have this pill. It's called steroids. Although based on the article, this seems more about burning fat, rather than gaining muscle, which isn't as useful.