So if we had a pill to do that, you'd want it, but I don't think any pill will ever totally create what exercise does. Possibly, but it's never going to make them into Olympians. One important implication of this research could be to help people recover faster from an illness or trauma that makes them immobile. They need to build up their muscles so that they can restore other bodily systems. People with type II diabetes also might benefit because their bodies have become insensitive to insulin.
Exercise helps their peripheral muscles regain that sensitivity.
Doctors know that exercise does this. Williams and his team still must examine whether this molecular pathway would influence lipid metabolism. Now they are delving more deeply, trying to determine how the proteins in this pathway act, which genes are involved, and what other interactions occur to change muscle cells from one type to another. If we can develop a drug to do this, exercise advocates may approve of using it for someone with a broken leg, but not for a couch potato at risk for heart disease. I would want it to be available to anyone who would benefit.