Exercise, such as brisk walking, is thought to increase life expectancy by several years – now scientists say it could be possible to put the benefits of exercise into a pill.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Stanford Medicine in Stanford, California, and collaborating institutions say that they have identified a molecule in the blood, called Lac-Phe, that is produced during exercise and can effectively reduce food intake and obesity in mice.
The findings improve science’s understanding of the physiological processes that underlie the interplay between exercise and hunger.
“Regular exercise has been proven to help weight loss, regulate appetite and improve the metabolic profile, especially for people who are overweight and obese,” said co-author Dr Yong Xu, professor of paediatrics – nutrition and molecular and cellular biology at Baylor.
“If we can understand the mechanism by which exercise triggers these benefits, then we are closer to helping many people improve their health.”
Co-author Jonathan Long MD, assistant professor of pathology at Stanford Medicine and an Institute Scholar of Stanford ChEM-H (Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health), said the work sought to capture some of the benefits of exercise at a molecular level.
“For example, older or frail people who cannot exercise enough may one day benefit from taking a medication that can help slow down osteoporosis, heart disease or other conditions,” he said.
The researchers discovered mice given Lac-Phe reduced food intake and body weight, which mirrored previous work on horses and humans.
Data from a human exercise showed that sprint exercise induced the most dramatic increase in plasma Lac-Phe, followed by resistance training and then endurance training.
“This suggests that Lac-Phe is an ancient and conserved system that regulates feeding and is associated with physical activity in many animal species,” Dr Long said.
The researchers also identified a related enzyme called CNDP2 involved in the production of Lac-Phe and showed that mice lacking this enzyme did not lose as much weight on an exercise regime as a control group on the same exercise plan.
In short, one day you may be prescribed “exercise” in pill form – in the meantime, it’s not a bad idea to pull on those runners.
