For anyone who's trying to lose weight, it's no pain, no gain. From a few minutes of high-intensity exercise to several hours on the running track, exercise demands a lot. It doesn't come a surprise therefore that many people are inconsistent or just don't want to do it despite the possible threat to their health.
But what if you can lose weight without having to run or lift weights again? Sounds like science fiction, right? Well, not necessarily since a team of researchers are now working on the "exercise blueprint."
Scientists from Australia and Sweden collaborated to develop this blueprint. For the study, they hired 4 men who are considered healthy but untrained to undergo a muscle biopsy, which means a tissue sample was obtained before and after the exercise. After the first round of biopsy, the men rode an exercise bicycle where they were asked to pedal as hard as they could for around 10 minutes. Then another muscle sample was then obtained. These samples were then sent to Sydney for analysis using a technique known as mass spectrometry. This allows the team to see any alterations in the skeletal muscles especially during exercise.
According to the results, exercise is actually very complex. For one, it encourages at least a thousand molecular changes. Although there are already weight loss drugs in the market, they target only one or a few molecules. To be truly effective, the drug should be capable of working on more. A thousand, however, seemed a lot, so the next best step was to identify the most important alterations, which now make up the blueprint.
The team believed it may take around a decade before they could develop the first pill using the blueprint. But if it becomes successful, it means it's much easier to replicate the drug so more people could benefit.
In the meantime, they assured the public they are working really hard for it. If the drug is released, it can be helpful for people who have exercise restrictions such as the elderly.