ReviewFrontiers in neuroscience2016
A Bidirectional Relationship between Executive Function and Health Behavior: Evidence, Implications, and Future Directions.
Review in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Autistic traits are associated with lower perceived executive function but not poorer executive function task performance in the general population: complementary meta-analytic evidence.Molecular autism · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of open-skill exercise on executive functions in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of open and closed skill exercise interventions on executive function in typical children: a meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Trans-ancestry meta-analysis of genome wide association studies of inhibitory control.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Do executive functions predict physical activity behavior? A meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Relationships between Child Development at School Entry and Adolescent Health-A Participatory Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal neural predictors of physical activity and sedentary behaviour from a 6-month randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Psychological and Behavioral Predictors of Weight Loss in the Reach Ahead for Lifestyle and Health-Diabetes Lifestyle Intervention Cohort.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2023Trial
- Usability and Effects of a Combined Physical and Cognitive Intervention Based on Active Video Games for Preschool Children.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- The Role of Executive Function in the Effectiveness of Multi-Component Interventions Targeting Physical Activity Behavior in Office Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Targeted self-regulation interventions in low-income children: Clinical trial results and implications for health behavior change.Journal of experimental child psychology · 2021Trial
- Breaking bad habits by improving executive function in individuals with obesity.BMC public health · 2018Trial
- Self-reported and task-based measures of attention control are distinct.Behavior research methods · 2026Article
- Bridging Gaps: Enhancing Sleep and Health Disparities in Latino Families with Young Adults with Autism Using a Culturally Adapted Intervention.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Evaluating bidirectional, longitudinal associations between adolescent executive control and eating behaviors.Appetite · 2026Article
- Cognitive screening for cardiovascular risk stratification in stable coronary artery disease: a prospective cohort study.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2026Article
- The effect of physical activity on homework effort of middle school students: the chain mediating effect of executive function and positive homework emotions.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between perceived executive function and self-reported self-management behaviour in adults with type 1 diabetes.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Physical fitness components as mediators between physical activity and executive function in adolescents: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Rationale and design of the Response to Behavioral Obesity Treatment (REBOOT) study.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Physically active lifestyles and other health-enhancing behaviors play an important role in preserving executive function into old age. Conversely, emerging research suggests that executive functions facilitate participation in a broad range of healthy behaviors including physical activity and reduced fatty food, tobacco, and alcohol consumption. They do this by supporting the volition, planning, performance monitoring, and inhibition necessary to enact intentions and override urges to engage in health damaging behavior. Here, we focus firstly on evidence suggesting that health-enhancing behaviors can induce improvements in executive function. We then switch our focus to findings linking executive function to the consistent performance of health-promoting behaviors and the avoidance of health risk behaviors. We suggest that executive function, health behavior, and disease processes are interdependent. In particular, we argue that a positive feedback loop may exist whereby health behavior-induced changes in executive function foster subsequent health-enhancing behaviors, which in turn help sustain efficient executive functions and good health. We conclude by outlining the implications of this reciprocal relationship for intervention strategies, the design of research studies, and the study of healthy aging.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.