Nestle is concocting a drink that could burn calories similarly to exercise. The drink is not pictured.
The food company has employed a team of eight scientists to develop the beverage that, if successful, would stimulate the metabolism in the same way that moderate exercise would, Bloomberg reports.
"Instead of 20 minutes of jogging or 40 minutes of cycling, it may help boost metabolism with moderate exercise like brisk walking," Kei Sakamoto, a Nestle scientist, told Bloomberg's Corinne Gretler. "They'd get similar effects with less strain."
The company has already made a significant breakthrough in its research. It has identified how an enzyme called AMPK, which regulates metabolism, can be stimulated by a compound called C13, Gretler writes.
Nestle's scientists are now searching for fruit and plant extracts that could act as a trigger for the enzyme.
The company's research comes as consumers have been showing an increasing interest in foods and beverages with health benefits. That's why there has been an explosion in high-protein products on restaurant menus and in grocery stores.
But as Gretler notes, pharmaceutical companies have been experimenting with activators for the AMPK enzyme for years, and few have been successful. And if Nestle succeeds, it will be several years before the drink is even tested on animals, according to Bloomberg.