MIT and Harvard scientists are working on exercise that comes in pill form, believe it or not

From running to rowing (and even goat yoga), exercise comes in many shapes and sizes. Now, a group of Boston-area scientists say they’re one step closer to bringing the benefits of exercise in pill form.

in a to study published last week, researchers from MIT and Harvard Medical School identified how both exercise and high-fat diets modify cells, genes, and cellular pathways. His research could eventually help develop drugs that would mimic the effects of exercise and combat obesity.

“I think the message to all readers should be that exercise is not just about calories burned,” said Dr. Manolis Kellis, one of the study’s lead authors. “Exercise is very much about reprogramming your body to process energy better, to be in a more metabolically active state.”

What the investigation found

The researchers learned how exercise and high-fat diets have opposite effects at the cellular level, explained Kellis, a professor of computer science in the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and a member of the broad institute.

“What we’re finding is … that both obesity and exercise have dramatic effects on biology,” he said in an interview with Boston.com. “They are affecting many, many pathways and many genes, in multiple cell types in each of these tissues.”

Those findings are important because “high-fat diet and obesity are major risk factors for almost every aspect of human biology, every aspect of human health,” Kellis said, citing COVID-19, the diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

In 19 states and two US territories, at least 35% of residents have adult obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers now have a roadmap to begin developing treatments for people who have trouble exercising or following a healthy diet, whether due to disabilities, socioeconomic status, or other reasons. The research could also benefit people who exercise and eat healthy but don’t lose weight, Kellis said.

Next steps

Having first focused on metabolic tissues, scientists will now look at other parts of the body, including the heart, liver, small intestine and brain, according to Kellis.

“And I’m particularly excited about the brain, because that’s one place where this positive feedback loop (from exercise) can be dramatically exacerbated,” he said. His next steps also include studying human volunteers and learning how variable genetics comes into play.

While medication and therapy are the researchers’ long-term goal, Kellis stressed that one of the most important takeaways from the study is how much of a systemic impact diet and exercise have on the body.

“People shouldn’t be like, ‘Oh great, they’re making a pill; I can stop exercising now. The message is the exact opposite,” she said. “Basically, exercise now so you can reprogram your cells for later.”