Dr. Ronald Evans at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, California in conjunction with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, just published a study claiming to have discovered two drugs that mimic the effects of exercise. The drugs, injected into mice, resulted in increased fat burn and greater endurance. Scientists do not yet know what the effect of the drugs would be on human subjects.

This new discovery has doctors and athletes in a tizzy. The subject of illegal doping for enhanced athletic performance was raised by the World Anti-Doping Agency. In response, Dr. Evans and the other researchers have reportedly already made a drug test to detect for the new “exercise pill.”

Many are questioning the drugs’ ability to give the same benefits as exercise. Skeptics point out that exercise and proper fitness result in not just fat burn but better overall health and emotional wellbeing. Whether a drug can do all this is doubtful. In the long run, professionals emphasize the importance of developing healthy exercise programs regardless of what the future of medicine holds.