US scientists have devised a drug that can switch on a gene to burn body fat, offering hope of an exercise pill.
Mice given the drug burned off fat, even when they did not exercise, and were resistant to weight gain despite a high-fat diet.
Turning on this switch activates the same fat-burning process that occurs during exercise.
UK expert Dr Fredrik Karpe, from the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, is hoping to test this in the near future.
But he cautioned; "Although this might become an 'exercise pill', it is unlikely to provide all the other benefits of real physical exercise."
clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk