Science gets a lethargic cheer from lazy people around the world this week, as a study published in Nature magazine reveals that we may one day be able to take a compound that produces similar effects in the body as exercise. The study comes from researchers at the Scripps Institute in Jupiter, FL, who injected overweight mice with a compound they created. As reported in the New York Times, the results show that the researchers’ compound increased activation of Rev-erb, a protein involved in controlling circadian rhythms and biological clocks. As such, the mice lost weight and improved their cholesterol, even while continuing to eat a high-fat diet. What’s more, the mice used more oxygen during the day and 5% more energy than the control group. The interesting thing to note here is that the treated mice did not exercise any more than the untreated mice. In some cases, the Times report says, the treated mice were lazier and more inactive than they were before the injections.

How the compound works Share on Pinterest Though researchers from Scripps Institute created a compound that mimics exercise, they still say many benefits of exercising cannot be recreated in a drug. In muscles, regular exercise increases the amount and power of mitochondria, which are the powerhouses that generate most of the cell’s energy. When the researchers injected their compound into various muscle cells in the mice, those cells then released an increased amount of Rev-erb. As a result, those cells created new mitochondria and strengthened the existing ones. Thomas Burris, co-author of the study, said that the drug “certainly seems to act as an exercise mimic,” and reportedly said that the drug might be able to allow people who are disabled or incapacitated to attain benefits of exercise without actually physically doing it.