If you've wished you could take a pill rather than exercise, some researchers in Texas are looking into that.
Scientists at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies in San Antonio are focused on the molecular changes caused by exercise. They hope that their hunt at the molecular level could someday pinpoint a drug that produces exercise's benefits.
Dr. Nicolas Musi, who became the institute's director last summer, told the San Antonio Express-News the institute's mission is “to promote extension of life, but a healthy life and a happy life.”
“We don't have any fountain of youth or magic pill, so common-sense recommendations (for healthy aging) are absolutely valuable,” he said, adding that the health benefits of exercise include reduced cancer risks to acting as an anti-depressant, though scientists don't fully understand the molecular mechanism responsible for helping the body stay healthy.
If researchers can understand those changes, “perhaps we could develop an intervention that could be a medication that will mimic the effect of exercise,” he said.
So don't throw away those running shoes just yet.
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