The pill can make you fit without your needing to move a muscle, scientists at California's Salk Institute for Biological Studies say.

The find came after researchers genetically engineered "marathon mice" that could run for hours and came up with two pills that could mimic the effect.

The drugs reproduce many of the biological benefits of exercise, helping cells burn fat better and boosting energy levels endurance, said researcher Ronald Evans.

One of the pills might be good for athletic people to enhance their exercise or training, while the other might equally satisfy the couch potato who needs a kick start.

The scientists first made the discovery in 2004 when they genetically engineered the mice by tweaking a particular gene.

They found the gene-engineered mice could run twice as far as normal mice and stayed lean even when fed a high-fat diet - so they went on to find a drug that could mimic the effects.

"If you're out of shape - and most of us are - and you want to change, you have to do some exercise. The way we re-programme muscle in adults is by training."

Professor Evans believes the pill could benefit people who do not have time to go to the gym.

"Almost no one gets the recommended 40 minutes to an hour per day of exercise," he said.

"For this group of people, if there was a way to mimic exercise, it would make the quality of exercise that they do much more efficient."

The pills are only available experimentally now and the professor is not working with any drug manufacturer.

However, he says, the drug - GW1516 - has a relatively simple chemical structure and can be synthesized easily.

Traditionalists are unconvinced, it would seem, saying the best way to be fit and well is to eat healthily and do real exercise.

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