Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Inducing Incentive Sensitization Of Exercise Reinforcement Among Adults Who Do Not Regularly Exercise—A Randomized Controlled Trial, Kyle D. Flack, Kelsey Elise Ufholz, Luann Johnson, James N. Roemmich

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

Background

Increasing exercise reinforcement, or decreasing sedentary reinforcement, may reduce sedentary activity and promote habitual exercise. Repeated exposures to a reinforcer may increase its reinforcing value (i.e., incentive sensitization). It is not yet known whether incentive sensitization occurs for exercise or factors associated with incentive sensitization for exercise reinforcement. The purpose was to determine whether exercise exposures increase exercise reinforcement relative to a sedentary alternative and whether this sensitization of exercise reinforcement would alter physical or sedentary behavior. This work also determined whether exercise dose, intensity, and preference and tolerance for exercise intensity were associated with incentive sensitization of exercise. …