Exercise Pills May One Day Be a Reality

1,004

BODILY CHANGES

That’s how many molecular changes occur in the muscles alone–to say nothing of what happens in the rest of the body–after just 10 minutes of exercise, according to an October 2015 study. It’s unlikely a pill could ever mimic all of them.

8

DRUGS IN THE WORKS

Several pills are being developed with the hope of giving some of the effects of exercise through molecular pathways; these include hormones, phytochemicals and pharmacological agonists.

10–20

YEARS

That’s how long it will be before someone develops a pill that can reliably simulate some of the major benefits of exercise, which include muscle strength and more, says Ismail Laher, a co-author of one of the new papers.