This is an archive article published on January 3, 2024

Opinion Express View on the ‘exercise pill’: Can it really replace a physical workout?

Most people, given the chance, would take a pill, rather than work out. But for the intangible benefits of exercise, a pill won’t be enough

New Year resolution, landmark experiment, Norway, clinical trial, blood plasma, Alzheimer’s disease, Indian express news

January 3, 2024 07:00 AM IST First published on: Jan 3, 2024 at 07:00 AM IST

Here’s some good news for those who are already regretting their New Year resolution to start going to the gym. The result of a landmark experiment, currently underway in Norway, could make getting some exercise as simple as popping a pill.

The clinical trial involves injecting the blood plasma of regular exercisers into older adults showing early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, thus transmitting to them the benefits of being physically active. If the results are positive and can be replicated in pills, it would change the lives of those who are unable to exercise — due to age, disability or disease. It would also turn upside down all the received wisdom of the “no-pain-no-gain” variety that gym trainers and physical coaches specialise in.

Few people really like to exercise. And anybody who can pop a pill to get rid of a bulging belly or thundering thighs, will do so. Put it down to human nature — a few years ago, a study by paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman had concluded that it is “natural and normal to be physically lazy”.

This is why, over the last few years, drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic — used to treat people with obesity and diabetes — have been used by celebrities as a shortcut to weight loss. And why, obviously ineffective get-slim-quick fitness hacks, like using activated charcoal in food or wearing sauna suits, continue to find takers.

But could an exercise pill replicate the add-on benefits of physical activity, such as becoming a part of a community of other runners or lifters, or simply having a universally acceptable reason to just focus on oneself and spend some time in the sun? The fact is that beyond just physical benefits, like weight loss and improved cardiovascular health, physical exercise also yields more intangible benefits, like improved mood and higher self-esteem. There’s no shortcut for these — and that is a bitter pill to swallow.