“I deserve a treat”: Exercise motivation as a predictor of post-exercise dietary licensing beliefs and implicit associations toward unhealthy snacks

- Exercise motivation may predict mechanisms underlying post-exercise snacking.
- Reflective and impulsive responses were recorded after a 40-min exercise session.
- Controlled motivation predicted greater post-exercise licensing beliefs regarding unhealthy snacks.
- The first study to link exercise motivation to mechanisms underlying post-exercise snacking.

ObjectiveTo explore whether exercise motivation predicted two of the potential mechanisms that may explain why individuals engage in unhealthy compensatory snack consumption following exercise; specifically (a) post-exercise conscious licensing beliefs, and (b) post-exercise implicit attitudes toward unhealthy snacks.DesignObservational study.MethodOne hundred and nineteen healthy participants completed a 40-min session of moderate intensity stationary cycling, and subsequently completed measures of explicit licensing and implicit associations toward unhealthy snack foods and drinks.ResultsIndividuals driven by more controlled (relative to autonomous) forms of exercise motivation reported greater compensatory licensing beliefs (Est = −0.08, p < 0.001) even after accounting for a number of relevant covariates. No significant relationship emerged between exercise motivation and implicit associations toward unhealthy snacks (Est = 0.12, p = 0.81).ConclusionThe findings demonstrate that exercise motivation may predict conscious licensing beliefs toward unhealthy snack foods and drinks post-exercise. Understanding the modifiable factors - such as exercise motivation - that predict post-exercise dietary beliefs is important for supporting individuals' weight loss and health goals.