EXCLUSIVE: Wonder pill to keep you slim, avoid diabetes and even hold off old age

SCIENTISTS are working on a pill that could help people lose weight, avoid diabetes and even hold off the effects of old age.

The pill could help people lose weight and even hold off old age The pill could help people lose weight and even hold off old age [ALAMY]

It is based on the discovery of a hormone released after exercise, which can reprogramme fat cells to burn energy instead of storing it.

A team from Aston University in Birmingham has found that the hormone, known as Irisin, can “predict” how quickly someone is ageing.

Irisin, which is naturally present in the body, helps increase the metabolic rate – the process by which the body combines calories in food and drink with oxygen to release the energy it needs to function.

This increase in metabolic rate could help cut obesity and stop ­people getting type 2 diabetes.

Dr James Brown, of the ­university’s Research Centre for Healthy ­Ageing, said: “Exercise is known to have wide-ranging benefits, from cardiovascular protection to weight loss. Recent research has suggested that exercise can protect people from both physical and mental decline with ageing.

“Our latest findings now provide a potential molecular link between keeping active and healthy ageing.”

The research has revealed a significant link between Irisin levels in the blood and a biological marker of ageing called telomere length. ­Telomeres are found at the end of chromosomes that shorten as cells within the body replicate.

Short telomere length has been linked to many age-related diseases, including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

Researchers examined 44 healthy men and 37 women, aged 18 to 83.

The subjects had an average body mass index of between 20 and 30, putting them in the normal to overweight category, but not obese. To control for physical activity, they all refrained from exercise for at least 12 hours before the trial.

The Aston University team ­discovered that those with higher levels of Irisin in their bodies also had longer telomeres.

The researchers said their ­findings provided a potential link between keeping active and healthy ageing. They said a higher level of Irisin in the body means someone is “biologically younger” than others who have lower levels of the hormone.