Pills, powders and potions. It would seem we have believed in them since the dawn of time.

Whether it was our ancient forefathers cooking up herbs, leaves and berries into exotic medicinal remedies or modern day lab rats manipulating complex laboratory equipment to develop state-of-the-art drugs, we have never lost our hope that when the chips are down, that spoon full of medicine might just make all our woes flutter away.

Of course, I am not one to shun the stunning and revolutionary advances science has made over the last century in the treatment and management of an incredible array of diseases, but an ingrained belief that there’s a pill for absolutely everything does seem a little worrying.

It is only natural that fitness professionals will favour the prescription of exercise over certain medications when studies prove the resulting healing powers to be equally as effective.

It was a little alarming therefore to note the latest headlines about some seemingly strange research that could have disastrous implications for us exercise-is-the-best-medicine crusaders.

The latest word has it that we could see an imminent attempt at developing an all new type of pill: a fitness pill. We already have plenty of performance-enhancing pharmaceuticals out there, but if it ever happens, this one will truly take the proverbial biscuit.

Researchers at the University of Sydney have been hard at work investigating molecular reactions to exercise. The ultimate aim is to develop a blueprint of these responses. In collaboration with scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, the researchers studied molecular changes in the muscles of untrained males following bouts of intensive exercise.

They have discovered changes we did not know about before, which is good news, as anything that furthers our understanding of the body’s adaptations to exercise helps us figure out ever more efficient and productive ways of doing things. The aim, however, in this case seems to be the intended substitution of exercise altogether.

Using mathematical techniques, scientists hope that these blueprints might help them develop a sort of chemical roadmap, like a trail of breadcrumbs, leading all the way back to the trigger.

There must be something more to it that makes us love being so active

With such a roadmap in hand, the initial trigger, which is currently exercise, may then perhaps be replaced. In other words, instead of an intense bout of exercise, it might become possible to replace the trigger with, you guessed it, another chemical or compound. Once they have figured out which, the relevant substance or combination of substances could theoretically be put inside a pill, powder or potion.

This is not the first major offensive pharmacy has made on obesity and inactivity. Experts at Harvard Medical School in the US have also been hard at work trying to identify a hormone that triggers the same calorie-burning effect of exercise.

Although they flew the banner of developing a “complete workout in a pill”, they admitted their work would not trigger muscle growth. In light of the obesity epidemic sweeping the globe, there has been much widespread interest in their work, and eyes are firmly set on the pharmaceutical industry.

If the scientists working on such projects actually start achieving some concrete results, they could be on to a big earner if it all works out. Want bigger muscles? Less fat? A more efficient cardiovascular system? Lifting weights and pedalling away on exercise bikes the old-fashioned way might become as easy as buying the right flavour of power juice.

Is this really the dire future of the fitness industry? Whether or not scientists achieve this goal, personally, I remain sceptical about old-fashioned physical activity ever losing its universal appeal. I don’t underestimate the power of human work ethic, and that is assuming they even succeed.

Some years ago, even before the Harvard crowd got on the case, there was already plenty of talk about miracle weight loss supplements. Word similarly had it that a new wonder drug was on the way; just take it and watch the pounds drop off. While we have so many weight-loss supplements already on the market and others continuously showing up on the shelves, the new wonder drug never materialised or, at least, it never showed up in mainstream markets. I have similar doubts about revolutionary fitness pills too.

The developers certainly have their work cut out, since the positive results we obtain from exercise are so numerous they would have to create so many blueprints, they might very well have a project on their hands at par with mapping the human genome.

Back in early 2007, scientists in the US discovered an enzyme that caused rats to increase their muscular endurance by 50 per cent. I can recall reporting these findings on this very page and wondered how all this might change the way we look at staying fit and healthy, should they ever manage to pack such a punch inside a pill.

Well, pushing on close to a decade later, people are more excited about fitness than ever, and joining gyms and fitness centres in the largest numbers ever recorded. The annual growth of the international fitness industry is now estimated at approximately three per cent.

So if you have never considered fitness as an option before and might like the sound of getting the same benefits from a pill, remember that exercise as a leisure pursuit enjoyed by millions the world over has not buckled yet and looks unlikely to do so. There must be something more to it that makes us love being so active.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt

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