Menu
Dr. Weil Logo Dr. Weil Logo Weil™ Andrew Weil, M.D.
  • Health & Wellness
    Health & Wellness
    Body, Mind & Spirit
    • Addiction
    • Allergy & Asthma
    • Autoimmune Disorders
    • Back Pain
    • Bone & Joint
    • Cancer
    • Colds & Flu
    • Dental & Oral
    • Diabetes
    • Disease & Disorders
    • Ears, Nose, & Throat
    • Feet
    • Gastrointestinal
    • Hair, Skin, & Nails
    • Headache
    • Heart
    • Insects & Parasites
    • Liver & Kidney
    • Mental Health
    • Pregnancy & Fertility
    • Respiratory
    • Sexual Health
    • Sleep Issues
    • Stress & Anxiety
    • Vision
    Balanced Living
    • Exercise & Fitness
    • Gardening
    • Healthy Home
    • Healthy Living
    • Meditation & Inspiration
    • Meet Dr. Weil
    • Pets & Pet Care
    • Technology
    • Wellness Therapies
    Health Centers
    • Aging Gracefully
    • Children
    • Condition Care Guide
    • Men
    • Women
  • Diet & Nutrition
    Diet & Nutrition
    Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Pyramid
    Anti-Inflammatory Diet Pyramid
    Cooking & Cookware
    Healthy Cooking & Cookware
    Diets & Weight Loss
    Diets & Weight Loss
    Food Safety
    Diets & Nutrition - Food Safety
    Nutrition
    healthy nutrition
    Recipes
    healthy recipes
  • Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Herbs
    herbal remedies - herbs
    Supplements & Remedies
    suppliments & remedies
    Vitamins
    ask-dr-weil_vitamins-supplements-herbs_vitamins-topnav
  • Ask Dr. Weil
  • Blogs
    Blogs
    Bulletins
    The Legacy Of Living Yes | Spontaneous Happiness | Andrew Weil, M.D.
    Health Tips
    Healthy Drinks To Start Sipping | Andrew Weil, M.D.
    Spontaneous Happiness
    blog_spontaneous-happiness_topnav
  • COVID-19
  • Dr. Weil Origins Skin Care
  • Marketplace
  • Healthy Aging
  • Podcasts
  • Meet Dr. Weil
  • Accessibility
  • Subscribe
A Pill To Replace Exercise?
Subscribe
Press "Enter" to search
  1. Home
  2. Health & Wellness
  3. Balanced Living
  4. Exercise & Fitness

A Pill To Replace Exercise?

Can you tell me anything about this so-called “exercise pill” I’ve been hearing about? It sounds far-fetched to me.

Andrew Weil, M.D. |January 8, 2016

Young woman walking her don in a neighborhood with houses and trees in the background.
2 min

A pill that provides the benefits of exercise would likely please a lot of people, especially those who would rather not walk, jog, run, bike or do any other type of workout. And it is true that the concept of such a pill is being studied. Researchers at a number of institutions are investigating the many molecular changes that take place in the human body when we exercise, hoping that what they learn might someday enable development of a pill that could substitute for some of the effects of physical activity. For one study, a team at the University of Sydney in Australia recruited four untrained but healthy men to exercise intensively on a bike for 10 minutes. They then used mass spectrometry to study how the activity affected proteins in cells throughout the body. They found that those 10 minutes of intense exercise triggered more than 1,000 changes.

This new knowledge could potentially allow scientists to design a drug that would mimic those changes, but that would be a daunting task since most drugs target individual molecules, not hundreds at a time or the pathways in which they work.

Before you get too excited, you should know that it probably will be many years before any type of exercise pill becomes a reality. Such a pill probably would not strengthen bones, pump up your heart rate, or give you the sense of well being you can get from exercise itself. But it might provide some of the benefits of exercise to stroke victims and others who are incapable of physical activity.

Meanwhile, a research team at the UK’s University of Southampton have developed a promising molecule called “compound 14” that appears to fool cells into thinking they have run low on energy and need to respond by increasing their glucose uptake and metabolism. When tested in obese mice, the drug led to a reduction in fasting blood glucose levels, improved glucose tolerance, and modest weight loss. When mice with a normal diet were treated with compound 14, their blood glucose levels and weight remained normal. But when the compound was administered as a single dose in obese mice on a high-fat diet, their blood glucose dropped to near normal levels. Daily doses given to obese mice for 7 days resulted in improved glucose tolerance and the loss of about 5 percent of the animals’ body weight. Further research is needed to determine whether the drug is safe and effective and would work in humans.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Sources:
Nolan Hoffman et al, “Global Phosphoproteomic Analysis of Human Skeletal Muscle Reveals a Network of Exercise-Regulated Kinases and AMPK Substrates.” Cell Metabolism, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.09.001

Ali Tavassoli et al, “AMPK Activation via Modulation of De Novo Purine Biosynthesis with an Inhibitor of ATIC Homodimerization.” Chemistry and Biology, July 2015, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2015.06.008

Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial

Free Newsletters

Stay Connected With Dr. Weil

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Follow Dr. Weil’s Food Pyramid

Get Dr Weils Newsletter Updates

Exclusive Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health Advice

Dr. Weil's FREE health living advice delivered to you!

By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to the DrWeil.com Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive emails from DrWeil.com, and you may opt out of DrWeil.com subscriptions at any time.

Trending Now

simple aerobic tips
Exercise & Fitness

13 Simple Aerobic Tips

hot bath better exercise
Exercise & Fitness

A Hot Bath For Better Exercise?

Young woman walking her don in a neighborhood with houses and trees in the background.
Exercise & Fitness

A Pill To Replace Exercise?

Close up of a men's quadruple skulls rowing team, seconds after the start of their race
Exercise & Fitness

A Watery Workout?

Get Dr Weils Newsletter Updates

Stay Connected With Dr. Weil - Get Free Newsletters Right In Your Inbox

Exclusive Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health Advice

Dr. Weil Logo Weil™ Andrew Weil, M.D.
Information
  • About Us
  • Press Information
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Manage Email Subscription
Trending Articles
simple aerobic tips
Exercise & Fitness

13 Simple Aerobic Tips

hot bath better exercise
Exercise & Fitness

A Hot Bath For Better Exercise?

Daily Tips
Minimize Sore Throat Pain
Health Tips

4 Ways To Minimize Sore Throat Pain

Getting Enough Vitamin C
Health Tips

3 Reasons Why The Body Needs Vitamin C

  • Flickr
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Information on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. You should not use the information on this website for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication or other treatment. Any third party offering or advertising on this website does not constitute an endorsement by Andrew Weil, M.D. or Healthy Lifestyle Brands.

©Copyright2023 Healthy Lifestyle Brands, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. www.drweil.com