SCIENTISTS have developed a new weight loss drug that mimics the effects of exercise to burn fat.
The medication, called SLU-PP-332, helped mice lose around 12 per cent of their bodyweight in a month, US researchers found.
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It convinces the body’s muscles they are exercising more than they really are.
Professor Thomas Burris, of the University of Florida, said: “This compound is basically telling skeletal muscle to make the same changes you see during endurance training.
“When you treat mice with the drug, you can see that their whole body metabolism turns to using fatty acids, which is very similar to what people use when they are fasting or exercising.
“And the animals start losing weight.”
Around 38 per cent of adults in England are overweight, and a further 26 per cent obese.
The NHS says obesity costs £6.1billion a year, but the total cost of all linked conditions is believed to be much higher.
SLU-PP-332 works differently to the other drugs like semaglutide — also known as Wegovy and Ozempic — and tirzepatide because it tricks the body into thinking it’s exercising more.
While those jabs make you feel fuller for longer, SLU-PP-332 works by directly affecting your metabolism.
A trial, published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, looked at the drug’s effect on obese mice.
One group was given the drug twice a day for a month, while the other received a placebo.
Both groups kept eating the same amount of food and didn’t exercise any more.
The mice on the drug used “more energy just living”, resulting in the weight loss, Professor Burris said.
They were also able to run around 45 per cent further than they could before.
Researchers said the greatest hope for the drug is that it would allow patients to maintain muscle mass while losing weight, unlike Wegovy and tirzepatide.
Professor Burris said: “This may be able to keep people healthier as they age.”
Researchers hope to refine the drug so it can be taken as a pill before moving on to human trials.