Abstract
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.
Highlights
There has been recent interest in the beneficial effects of acute bouts of aerobic exercise on cognition
Yanagisawa et al (2010) demonstrated that acute aerobic exercise increased cortical activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the Stroop task, and this enhanced activation corresponded with improved performance on the Stroop task
In the current study, we examined the effects of an acute bout of aerobic activity on cognitive function, and assessed transfer effects to a self-control task in the dietary domain
Summary
There has been recent interest in the beneficial effects of acute bouts of aerobic exercise on cognition. With respect to executive function (EF) in particular, results have been variable with some studies showing moderateto-large effects (Chang and Etnier, 2009; Pontifex et al, 2009; Chang et al, 2011), and others showing no beneficial effect (Tomporowski and Ganio, 2006; Coles and Tomporowski, 2008) These inconsistencies may be related to study design, exercise type, or facet of EF examined. Yanagisawa et al (2010) demonstrated that acute aerobic exercise increased cortical activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the Stroop task, and this enhanced activation corresponded with improved performance on the Stroop task. These studies suggest that acute aerobic exercise especially enhances the inhibitory control facet of EF
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