Press Releases

Americans More Concerned with Physical and Mental Deterioration than Vanity; Energy Decline More Prevalent in Women Age 45+ Than Men

America’s “Attitudes on Aging” Explored in Nationwide Study

Orinda, CA – May 25, 2004 – A study released today debunks the common perception that Americans are obsessed with vanity when it comes to aging. The study, commissioned by emerging nutraceutical company, Juvenon, Inc., shows that for two out of three Americans, the leading age-related worry is “deteriorating physical condition.” One in two Americans is concerned with “loss of mental sharpness.” Only 8 percent place “gray hair” at the top of their concerns about aging, and 4 percent place “wrinkles” at the top of their concerns.

“As Americans are bombarded with marketing images that promote maintaining a youthful image, they spend billions of dollars a year on cosmetic anti-aging products,” said Dr. Ben Treadwell, Scientific Adviser to Juvenon. “In spite of the numbers of people who subscribe to the thought that aging can be confronted from the outside-in, it’s comforting to know that an overwhelming majority of the respondents surveyed are more concerned with the aging process from the inside out.”

How Aging is Experienced: Men vs. Women

Response	Women (Age 45+)	Men (Age 45+)
I feel less energetic today than I did 5 years ago.	73%	56%

Based on Juvenon’s survey findings, women generally think more about aging than men. One of the reasons women tend to be more preoccupied with the effects of aging than men could be that a larger percentage of women feel less energetic now than they did five years ago in comparison to men. Additionally, this finding – that women experience energy loss more so than men – applies across all age groups.

Three in Four Americans Believe In
The Value of Preventive Care . . .

Americans overall seem to agree that taking preventive measures now can ensure good physical and mental health, contributing to longer and healthier lives. Nationwide, 74 percent of respondents feel that much of what affects their physical and mental health depends on what they do to take care of themselves. Regionally, 80 percent of survey respondents in the Northeast are more likely to subscribe to this line of thinking as compared to only 71 percent of respondents residing in Western states.

Although Americans understand the value of engaging in a healthy lifestyle, only 54 percent of the population actively involve themselves in altering their behaviors to ensure they will have good physical and mental health later in life. Alternatively, this means that the other 46 percent of Americans do not take steps towards a healthy lifestyle. In addition to this startling figure, 20 percent of the population feels that there is nothing that they can do to prevent deteriorating health conditions and other conditions associated with the aging process because they think “it’s all predetermined”.

. . . But Only a Slim Majority Take Active Steps
To Ensure Good Health in Later Life

Response	Women	Men	Total
I’m taking steps now to ensure good health later in life.	56%	51%	54%
Vitamins and nutritional supplements can help prolong an active lifestyle.	56%	46%	51%
I don’t do a lot to prevent aging because I believe that how one ages is predetermined.	18%	22%	20%
(Question: Which of the following statements, if any, are true for you? Please select all that apply.)

Researchers at Juvenon commissioned a study to delve deeper into Americans’ thoughts and perceptions around the aging process after realizing that insufficient data around the topic existed. The study was designed to gauge respondents’ perceptions specifically with regard to energy levels as people age, attitudes toward the results of aging and lifestyle measures that can be taken to stave off aging.

Additional survey results are available on this website, under The Science: Current Research.

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Methodology
This survey was commissioned by Juvenon, Inc. in conjunction with Harris Interactive®. Harris Interactive fielded the study from April 26 – 28th, 2004, via its QuickQuerySM online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,013 U.S. adults (18+). In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. This is not a probability sample. Data were propensity-weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, and race/ethnicity.

About Juvenon, Inc.
Juvenon, Inc. is an emerging nutraceutical company committed to developing products that slow the progressive deterioration associated with cellular aging. Juvenon’s proprietary technology was developed at the University of California, Berkeley by renowned scientist Bruce Ames, Ph.D., a winner of the National Medal of Science and other international honors, and Tory Hagen, Ph.D., an investigator at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Juvenon is currently the only nutraceuticals company that focuses on the role of the mitochondria and the mechanics of cellular health. The company’s first product, Juvenon Energy Formula™, consists of two mitochondrial-activating components that restore energy levels, enhances brain cell function, and improves metabolic efficiency. For more information about Juvenon, visit juvenon.com.

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll®, and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts international research from its U.S. offices and through wholly owned subsidiaries—Londonbased HI Europe (www.hieurope.com), Paris-based Novatris and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan—as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of independent market- and opinionresearch firms.