Exercise in a Pill

Now comes news that researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego have discovered a synthetic chemical that improves the physical stamina of laboratory mice on a treadmill by 44 percent over their non-doped buddies. The discovery immediately sparked speculation that scientists might one day create an “exercise pill” for humans that could put the most sluggish couch potato on a physiological par with the most avid of exercisers – with no additional effort.

The revelation is particularly pertinent to Boomers who have reached an age in which their physical fitness is experiencing a steady, seemingly inexorable slide. Although many Boomers have incorporated exercise into their lifestyles more passionately than previous generations have, that commitment requires a tremendous effort. Who wouldn’t like to spend less time on the treadmill and more time playing Sudoku or snoozing in the hammock?

The quest for youthful vigor is hardly unique to Boomers, of course. Human beings have been searching for an antidote to the aging process at least since Juan Ponce de Leon undertook his unsuccessful search for the fountain of youth (we wonder if he was friends with Luigi Cornaro). Assuming we can believe Wikipedia, ol’ Juan was seeking a remedy for sexual impotence. If the Spaniards had had Viagra back then, he might never have been motivated to discover Florida.

Speaking of Viagra, pills for sexual impotence already rank among the biggest selling pharmaceuticals in the world. Meanwhile, scientists are researching chemical compounds that can halt the effects of aging on memory and mental processing speeds. Although it’s a long journey from a chemical that works on mice in a lab to a drug safe for humans, it may be only a matter of time before “exercise pills” become a reality.

How long before there’s a pill to effortlessly perfect every human frailty? How will that impact the way we value effort and self discipline? And how will the demand of the huge and affluent Boomer generation skew research priorities toward lifestyle drugs, away from life-saving pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and orphan drugs that treat small but needy populations?

We don’t pretend to know. But stay tuned. We’ll follow the emerging debate.

Boomers Buying Brain Exercise

Data is in that the "brain fitness" software category is a $225 million industry, doubling the last two years, according to this article by the Associated Press.

By 2010, we think the entire "brain fitness" category, from software, books, gyms and who know what else, will be many, many times larger. Those same Baby Boomers who invented the physical fitness boom in the 1970's as young adults are going to spend billions on mental fitness as older adults.

Example: SF-based vibrantBrains -- which seems to have a good idea, but not an award-winning tagline:

A Health Club for Your Brain
Where the Sweat is Figurative,
but the Results are Real

Maybe their copywriter needs to use the brain gym a little more and try again...

This is a Post About Boomers and....uh...oh yeah, Memory

One area we have been predicting will be big for marketers and smart businesspeople is helping Boomers exercise their brains (we wrote about it last year, for example). This article from The New York Times earlier this week sheds new light on the opportunity.

Boomers were the generation that created and embraced the fitness craze in the 1970's and 80's. They made it acceptable for adults, grown-ups that is, to keep wearing sneakers and gym clothes, long past their last official recess or gym class. As David Brooks pointed put in his 2001 book Bobos in Paradise, Boomers turned what was once called "playing" into "working out." That's right, we made play into work. Our Puritan forefathers must be laughing at us from above.

Mental gymnastics will prove to be a big business as Boomers see their parents living well into their 80's and 90's, with the body parts holding up while mental acuity falters. For those of you looking for inexpensive ways to exercise your brains, try this book, Keep Your Brain Alive, and master neurobics.

Or do some jumping jacks.