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Exercise pills for cardiometabolic health cannot mimic the exercise milieu

Plaza-Florido, Abel ; Lindholm, Malene E. ; Carrera-Bastos, Pedro LU ; Santos-Lozano, Alejandro ; Valenzuela, Pedro L. ; Fiuza-Luces, Carmen ; Radom-Aizik, Shlomit and Lucia, Alejandro (2025) In Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism (TEM 2049).
Abstract

Physical exercise can play an important role both in primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention by virtue of its multisystem effects. These beneficial adaptations at the whole-body level include improvements in mitochondrial health, vascular function, and autonomic balance, together with attenuation of inflammation and the release of ‘exerkines’ with pleiotropic effects. Thus, several research groups have attempted to develop so-called ‘exercise pills’ or ‘exercise mimetics’: that is, substances that are theoretically capable of reproducing some of the cardiometabolic benefits associated with regular exercise. In this review we summarize pharmacological and phytochemical agents which, when used alone or in combination with... (More)

Physical exercise can play an important role both in primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention by virtue of its multisystem effects. These beneficial adaptations at the whole-body level include improvements in mitochondrial health, vascular function, and autonomic balance, together with attenuation of inflammation and the release of ‘exerkines’ with pleiotropic effects. Thus, several research groups have attempted to develop so-called ‘exercise pills’ or ‘exercise mimetics’: that is, substances that are theoretically capable of reproducing some of the cardiometabolic benefits associated with regular exercise. In this review we summarize pharmacological and phytochemical agents which, when used alone or in combination with exercise, may improve cardiometabolic health. We also discuss the current gaps and future steps needed to translate these findings into therapeutic applications.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
diabetes, exercise mimetics, obesity, pharmacology, physical activity
in
Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism
volume
(TEM 2049)
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105012749352
  • pmid:40784868
ISSN
1043-2760
DOI
10.1016/j.tem.2025.07.005
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
id
ae4d632a-bcc3-4374-8dcb-8595f17a2246
date added to LUP
2026-01-29 16:25:07
date last changed
2026-01-30 03:00:03
@article{ae4d632a-bcc3-4374-8dcb-8595f17a2246,
  abstract     = {{<p>Physical exercise can play an important role both in primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention by virtue of its multisystem effects. These beneficial adaptations at the whole-body level include improvements in mitochondrial health, vascular function, and autonomic balance, together with attenuation of inflammation and the release of ‘exerkines’ with pleiotropic effects. Thus, several research groups have attempted to develop so-called ‘exercise pills’ or ‘exercise mimetics’: that is, substances that are theoretically capable of reproducing some of the cardiometabolic benefits associated with regular exercise. In this review we summarize pharmacological and phytochemical agents which, when used alone or in combination with exercise, may improve cardiometabolic health. We also discuss the current gaps and future steps needed to translate these findings into therapeutic applications.</p>}},
  author       = {{Plaza-Florido, Abel and Lindholm, Malene E. and Carrera-Bastos, Pedro and Santos-Lozano, Alejandro and Valenzuela, Pedro L. and Fiuza-Luces, Carmen and Radom-Aizik, Shlomit and Lucia, Alejandro}},
  issn         = {{1043-2760}},
  keywords     = {{diabetes; exercise mimetics; obesity; pharmacology; physical activity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism}},
  title        = {{Exercise pills for cardiometabolic health cannot mimic the exercise milieu}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2025.07.005}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.tem.2025.07.005}},
  volume       = {{(TEM 2049)}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}