The effects of acute aerobic activity on cognition and cross-domain transfer to eating behavior

Prior studies have demonstrated that a single session of aerobic exercise can enhance cognitive functioning; specifically, the inhibition facet of executive function (EF). Additionally, previous research has demonstrated that inhibitory abilities are essential for effective dietary self-control. However, it is currently unknown whether exercise induced enhancements in EF also facilitate self-control in the dietary domain. The present study sought to determine whether a single session of aerobic exercise enhances EF, and whether there is a transfer effect to dietary self-control. Thirty four undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of three exercise conditions: (1) minimal exercise; (2) moderate intensity exercise (30% heart rate reserve); (3) vigorous intensity exercise (50% heart rate reserve). After the exercise bout, participants completed three standardized EF tasks followed by a bogus taste test for three appetitive snack foods (milk chocolate and potato chips) and two control foods (dark chocolate and crackers). The amount of food consumed during the taste test was covertly measured. The results revealed a significant main effect of treatment condition on the Stroop task performance, but not Go-NoGo (GNG) and Stop Signal task performance. Findings with respect to food consumption revealed that EF moderated the treatment effect, such that those with larger exercise effects on Stroop performance in the moderate intensity exercise condition consumed more control foods (but not less appetitive foods). These findings support the contention that a single bout of aerobic exercise enhances EF, and may have transfer effects to the dietary domain, but that such effects may be indirect in nature.