Consumers' Perceptions of Mental and Physical Energy

Abstract

Abstract Consumer's definitions of energy could serve as a basis for structure/function claims. Therefore, this research explored consumer's descriptions of mental and physical energy by obtaining their responses to 2 ways to characterize energy: (1) peaks and valleys and (2) gold standard (accomplished all you want to) and off days. Seven focus groups were conducted in Bethesda, MD, and Denver, CO (Summer 2001): women 25-55 yr (2 groups), men 25-55 yr (2 groups) and men and women 56-75 yr (3 groups) (N = 65). Terms used from peak and valley descriptions were extracted from the taped interviews, and the top 5 terms used to characterize gold standard and off-days were circled on a sheet of paper. Descriptive statistics were conducted on all measurements. Terms were categorized to allow comparisons among groups. The top categories used to describe energy peaks (aided) were happiness (24), energy (17), high performance (15) and mental alertness (11) compared to the top aided categories for gold standard days...