People who aren't big fans of working out will be happy to hear that Nestle is looking to provide the results from a good workout in a bottle.
The idea for the food company, known for its KitKat candy bars and Nespresso capsules, is to copy the fat-burning effect that exercise produces with an enzyme that regulates metabolism that can be stimulated by a compound called C13, according to Bloomberg.
Eight scientists at Nestle's Switzerland-based Institute of Health Sciences are studying fruit, plants and other natural substances to see if they can regulate AMPK, an enzyme that controls how much sugar and fat the body uses.
Kei Sakamoto, the scientist overseeing diabetes research at Nestle, says the end product is aimed at giving people limited in their ability to move the same effects they would find from exercising. Such people include those suffering from diabetes or obesity, as well as people of old age.
"The enzyme can help people who can't tolerate or continue rigorous exercise," Sakamoto said. "Instead of 20 minutes of jogging or 40 minutes of cycling, it may help boost metabolism with moderate exercise like brisk walking. They'd get similar effects with less strain."
The initiative is not Nestle's first aimed at developing a health product, with previous moves including the development of Nestrovit vitamins in 1936 and buying the medical-nutrition unit of Novartis AG in the 1980's, Bloomberg reported.
Metabolic medicine professor Naveed Sattar from the University of Glasgow said Nestle is also not the first company to try to create a fat-burning product, as others have tried and failed in the past.
"A successful attempt in producing metabolic-assisting foods that mimic exercise would be marvelous- the holy grail," Sattar said. "But there's no such thing as a free lunch. So far no such product has ever passed clinical trials."
Nestle's project is the latest step in the company's goal of diversifying its products and providing food that helps people meet their health needs, The International Business Times reported. It also comes at a time when consumers are more concerned about eating health products, as research firm Euromonitor International says that consumers are buying more healthy food, such as gluten-free pasta and orange juice.
The organization also predicts that the demand for healthy foods will surpass the demand for traditional packaged foods through 2019.
"The border between food and pharma will narrow in the coming years," said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel AG in Zurich, adding that companies with the most diversified and healthy food products will be the most successful.
