Scientists have uncovered a brand-new drug that could have negative implications for the infomercial stage business.

Researchers at the Salk Institute in California reports that mice fed a compound named Aicar were fit to run forty-four per cent farther on a treadwheel than mice who didn’t obtain the drug. It seems to offer the benefit of a elaborate without any tangible effort. In short, it’s exercise in a pill.

What will occur to late-night telly? If couch potatoes could become fit without physical exercise, they will have no need for Chuck Norris and his Total Gym, the “ripped abs” assure by Bowflex, the Body by Jake Bun and Thigh Rocker or Richard Simmons’s hyperventilated weight-loss videos. All over the country, TV screens at 2 a.m. will go dark.

A pill that tricks the muscles into acting as if they’ve been working out is a dream come true for those who want a firm, toned body but lack the discipline or desire to go to the gym. It appears that the drug transforms fast-twitch muscle fibres that fatigue quickly into slow-twitch ones that give athletes an edge in endurance events, like the Iron Man Triathlon and the Tour de France.

A second drug, GW1516, produced even more dramatic results, raising the mice’s endurance by 68 per cent, but it had to be combined with exercise.

This is all terrific news — for mice. It is unknown whether the chemicals produce a similar effect in humans.

That hasn’t stopped athletes from experimenting. Both drugs are available at laboratory supply stores but, at $120 a gram for Aicar, a dose equivalent to that given the mice would cost thousands of dollars a day. Nevertheless, Olympic Games officials are on high alert.

Both drugs have a serious purpose. Aicar could help those too frail to exercise or even bedridden to maintain muscle mass, and those suffering from diseases such as diabetes to improve with exercise. GW1516 is being studied for its potential to raise levels of HDL, or good cholesterol.

Of course, there’s more to exercise than pumped arms and a “six-pack” abdomen. Exercise works the heart and lungs, burns calories, and lifts depression. A 30-minute jog in the park three times a week seems a pleasurable and inexpensive way to improve physical and mental health. And it sure beats watching infomercials.