Effect of carbohydrate ingestion during cycling exercise on affective valence and activation in recreational exercisers.
Carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion enhances "feel-good" responses during acute exercise but no study has examined the effect of regular ingestion of CHO on affective valence. We investigated the effect of CHO ingestion on perceptual responses and perceived work intensity of individual exercise sessions throughout a 10-week cycling ("spin") exercise intervention. We also assessed whether any changes in affect and/or perceived work intensity would influence health and fitness parameters. Twelve recreational exercisers (46 ± 9 years; nine females and three males) were randomly allocated to either CHO (7.5% CHO; 5 mL · kg-1 per exercise session; n = 6; CHO) or placebo (0% CHO, taste- and volume-matched solution; n = 6; PLA) groups. Participants exercised 2 × 45-min per week, over a 10-week intervention period. Perceptual measures of exertion (RPE), affect (feeling scale, FS) and activation (felt arousal scale, FAS) were assessed after each exercise session. The FAS ratings increased over time in CHO but decreased throughout the intervention in PLA (P = 0.03). There were no differences in heart rate (P = 0.70), RPE (P = 0.05) and FS (P = 0.84) between trials. Furthermore, no changes in health and fitness parameters were observed over time or between groups. CHO ingestion enhanced ratings of activation in recreational exercisers throughout a 10-week cycling intervention.
['Lee|Vivian|V|', 'Rutherfurd-Markwick|Kay|K|', 'Ali|Ajmol|A|']
D000339:Affect D000886:Anthropometry D001642:Bicycling D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates D005260:Female D006339:Heart Rate D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D010465:Perception D005082:Physical Exertion D010809:Physical Fitness
feeling scale felt arousal scale Feel-good response circumplex model