Our lazy side is SO happy right now...
By Francesca Rice, Prima
If you hate the gym
as much as we do, then your inner lazy girl will be delighted to hear
that scientists may be one step closer to creating an 'exercise pill'
that could actually replace workouts.
A
new study has shown that suppressing the body's production of a
specific protein can actually enhance muscles and boost heart health in
mice, the Mail Online reports.
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well as this being excellent news for those of us who would rather
lounge on the sofa than lunge in the gym, the team hope their findings
could help tackle the obesity
epidemic, as studies have shown that obese people may produce too much
of the protein, myostatin, meaning they struggle to see results from
exercising. People who produce more myostatin are known to have less muscle mass.
In
the experiment, obese mice given a pill to suppress myostatin developed
higher muscle mass, while their markers for heart health were on a par
with those of leaner mice.
Study
leader Dr Joshua Butcher from the Vascular Biology Center at Augusta
University, who will present the findings at the American Physiological
Society's annual meeting, said: 'While much more research is needed, at
this point myostatin appears to be a very promising pathway for
protection against obesity-derived cardiometabolic dysfunction.'
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'Ultimately, the goal of our research would be to create a pill that mimics the effect of exercise and protects against obesity.'
We really, really hope this becomes reality one day...
