In the future, popping a pill could be a viable alternative to hitting the gym, as research underway now is expected to result in pills that can replace at least some of the benefits of physical exercise.

“We have recognized the need for exercise pills for some time, and this is an achievable goal based on our improved understanding of the molecular targets of physical exercise,” said Ismail Laher, from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who co-authored a study looking into the current and likely future state of exercise pill research.

Although there is some way to go before exercise pills are available to buy and use, numerous labs are working on their development, mainly through animal-based research, with a focus on improving muscle performance and strength. Some of these have been found to produce significant weight loss in animal studies, but whether these can be translated into safe pills for humans remains to be seen.

Those hoping that a pill can replace every facet of a complete cardiovascular workout, however, will be disappointed. Initial exercise pills might replace some aspects of exercise, but they won’t be a complete substitute.

“Clearly people derive many other rewarding experiences from exercise – such as increased cognitive function, bone strength and improved cardiovascular function,” said Laher.

“It is unrealistic to expect that exercise pills will fully be able to substitute for physical exercise – at least not in the immediate future.”

While they might not be the perfect replacement, such exercise pills would be invaluable, particularly to people who have disabilities that prevent them from undertaking conventional physical exercise.

“For example, a pill for people with spinal cord injury could be very appealing given the difficulties that these individuals face in exercising due to paralysis – in such patients, a large number of detrimental changes occur in cardiovascular and skeletal muscle function,” said Laher.

There is also a likely market for muscle-targeting pills among the body building community, some of whom have taken drastic measures to hasten their gains.

The high-value application will, of course, be weight loss. With so many of us not getting enough exercise at present, and with predictions that we will get more sedentary as technologies such as VR become more popular, a pill that could keep weight in check would indeed be a holy grail.

Two of the drug candidates mentioned by Laher and his co-author Shunchang Li have been found to produce weight loss in obese mice, but there is a lot of work to be done if this is ever to be replicated in humans.

The study, which was published today in the journal Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, highlights that there is still a long way to go before exercise pills are something we can actually take, but paints a positive picture of what lies ahead.

“We are at the early stages of this exciting new field,” said Laher.

“Further development of exercise pills that act in combination may be more effective than single compounds. We just don’t know anything about their long-term use in humans yet.”