I'm sure many of us at one time or another have opted for the promise of a short cut, the magical answer to all of our fitness goals. That little secret which will save us the time and effort but still provide all of the desired results. Over the year we have seen many of them adorn the front pages of a fitness magazine, convincing us that the secret lies within it's pages: short, high intensity workouts promising a massive calorific burn; a new variation of sets, reps and rest offering insane gains; standing on a vibrating platform in the hope it will provide the answer in only 5 minutes... any of these sound familiar?
This seems to be the way the fitness industry has been going for the past two decades; constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. If only there was a magic workout pill... oh wait, there is!
Ronald Evans in 2002, took inactive rodents who preferred a more sedate life, and transformed them into little creatures who could run and run and run. What caused such a dramatic change in these once happy to kick back with a lump of cheese creatures? The answer GW1516 - watch out we're about to get sciencey!
With a short internet search, we discover that GW1516 is also known as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator, (a rather lengthy title, thankfully abbreviated to SARM, or the previously mentioned GW501516) (1). Originally developed to treat obesity, diabetes, and various other metabolic disorders. GW1516 targets PPARd (peroxisome proliferated-activated receptor D), which Evans describes as the master switch, leading to a reduction in fast-twitch muscle, while increasing the amount of slow-twitch muscle (for more endurance) as well as burning fat, as opposed to sugar for energy.
If you think this sounds like an enhancement drug that sporting folk could massively benefit from, you'd be right and they've already tried it - illegally of course! Positive tests for GW1516 go back as far as 2017, with the substance being banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and deemed not legally permitted to be present in any medication, supplement or food (2). WADA were not just concerned that athletes who took this substance where cheating, but clinical trials found a link to toxicity and cancer (mentioned in The Toxicologist volume 108, number 1, March 2009, page 185, abstract 895-896).
We know we need to keep fit to assist with present and future health, but should we really be looking to achieve this with a pill? Just consider how far we've already come technologically as a society, we can now do practically everything we need without leaving our homes. The internet alongside an array of apps and delivery services can now provide all our daily needs right to our doorstep. While these services may prove absolutely essential for some, removing the recommended mandates for daily activity and the associated social activity it provides in favour of a pharmaceutical solution would surely be considered detrimental to society at large. We expect that in the future, once all the negative issues with such a pill have been resolved, that there are areas such an addition could be useful, but surely not as a standard replacement to activity for the masses?
We have no doubt that we will be revisiting this subject again. Just like trying to reinventing the wheel, if you are offering potentially huge benefits for very little effort, a lot of people will want to buy in. Without wanting to sound too cynical, there's also the obvious fact that there's potentially a lot of money to be made in producing and marketing such a pill. Knowing the path down which similar solutions of the past have travelled we have to ask - what would be the real cost?
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