Excercise in Pill Form

By turning on a gene normally activated by exercised, an experimental drug allows inactive mice to gorge themselves without gaining weight.

When given the drug in the form of a liquid or powder, the bodies of mice appear to act as if they are exercising even when they aren't, causing their metabolism to speed up, Evans explained. "You then have lower fatty acid levels in your blood, lower triglyceride levels, and lower sugar levels," he said. "They all appear to be linked."

Mice who received the drug were also able to exercise twice as long, turning into what researchers calls "marathon mice."

But what about people?

While an effective weight-loss pill is the "holy grail" of obesity research, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious about the new finding, said Leah Whigham, a research scientist who studies nutrition at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison.

"The most obvious caution is that this work is in mice, which are much different from humans and have different energy expenditure mechanisms. It remains to be seen if this research can translate into something useful for humans," she said.

New Drug Counteracts Overeating [Forbes]

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