What comes as a solution to doing mid-week activewear laundry and getting up at the crack of dawn for that bootcamp session that you really don’t want to go to, scientists are working on a ~magic~ pill that essentially tells your body it’s been to the gym.
^Revolutionarily convenient, we know.
Alright, so this pill might not be being developed as to help us ease the load of our washing basket woes, but what it does apparently do is increase muscle mass, as well help improve markers of heart and kidney health.
Scientists worked to suppress production of a protein called myostatin and, when tested on obese mice, discovered that mice with no myostatin become noticeably more muscular.
According to Science Daily, studies suggest obese people produce more myostatin, making it harder for them to exercise and build muscle.
“Ultimately, the goal of our research would be to create a pill that mimics the effect of exercise and protects against obesity,” explains lead researcher Dr Joshua Butcher, from Augusta University in the US.
“A pill that inhibits myostatin could also have applications for muscle-wasting diseases, such as cancer, muscle dystrophy and Aids.”
“Given that exercise is one of the most effective interventions for obesity, this creates a cycle by which a person becomes trapped in obesity.”
“While much more research is needed, at this point myostatin appears to be a very promising pathway for protection against obesity-derived cardiometabolic dysfunction.”
So, until this wunderdrug a) is proven to actually work on humans and b) becomes available, perhaps it’s better to be safe than sorry and stick to those pre-work/school-drop bootcamps…
