No sweat
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Scientists have come up with a drug that they claim is "exercise in a pill." And that breeze you just felt was the result of masses of people rushing to line up for it. Of course, they're in for a bit of a wait, seeing as how the effects have only been tested in mice so far. But you wouldn't know that judging from how the media reacted to news of the study, trumpeting the drug's promise for treating everything from obesity to diabetes without requiring patients to ever lift a finger. Here's what the study actually uncovered: After four weeks of treatment with the drug, called AICAR, a group of sedentary mice burned more calories and had less body fat than a group of untreated mice. Sounds great. In theory. But four weeks is hardly enough time to get an accurate idea of what AICAR is really capable of -- good and bad. In fact, the articles I read made no mention at all of side effects associated with it. But you know as well as I do that that doesn't mean there weren't any -- or that they won't emerge later on. For the time being though, the media and the medical mainstream are treating AICAR with the same "glass is half full" optimism that they use for all new drugs, and any bit of criticism or caution is pushed to the side. Or, in the case of the article I read, to the very last sentence, which was a quote from Laurie Goodyear, a representative from Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, stating the harsh reality that "For the majority of people, it would be better to do exercise than to take a pill." While Goodyear might be considered a naysayer by the media, I'm just glad that someone publicly commented on the fact that actual exercise has far more benefits, both physically and emotionally, than you could squeeze into any pill. Don't get me wrong: I certainly don't blame anyone for wanting that "magic bullet." And I fully admit that exercise isn't something I particularly love either. But, as cliché as it sounds, I can't help thinking "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Source:
"Exercise in a pill? Drugs show promise in mice," MSNBC (www.msnbc.com), 7/31/08 | 
