Effects of a Dual Task of Exercise and Inhibitory Training on Cognitive Control Toward Food Cues and Frontal EEG Activity

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine the acute effects of a dual-task intervention combining moderate-intensity cycling with a food-related Go/No-Go task on inhibitory control, subjective appetite, and frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) activity in healthy adults. Methods: Forty healthy adults were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group in a single-blind design. The experimental group performed cycling combined with a food-related Go/No-Go task, whereas the control group performed only the cognitive task. Outcomes were assessed before and after the intervention, and Group × Time effects were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA with correction for multiple comparisons. Results: No significant Group × Time interactions were observed for the primary outcomes, including EEG alpha and theta power (ηp2 = 0.004 and 0.040, respectively) and Stroop reaction time and accuracy (ηp2 = 0.076 and 0.062, respectively). Subjective appetite decreased in the experimental group and increased in the control group, showing a significant interaction at the uncorrected level (p = 0.017, ηp2 = 0.142); however, this interaction did not remain significant after correction for multiple comparisons. The exploratory DEBQ outcomes showed no significant Group × Time interactions. Conclusions: In this single-session study, the intervention did not demonstrate clear intervention-specific benefits across the cognitive, EEG, or eating-related outcomes. Nevertheless, the contrasting descriptive pattern in subjective appetite warrants further investigation in larger studies involving repeated interventions and clinical populations.