FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy White
The Natural Marketing Institute
215.513.7300 ext. 225
Nancy.White@NMIsolutions.com

External Factors Shift Consumers' Health Priorities
As consumers fret over an uncertain economy, politics and the safety of their families, health concerns decline.

Harleysville, Pa. (July 7, 2004) – The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the leading provider of strategic consulting and market research services within the health, wellness, and sustainability industries, today expanded on one of the trends it has identified as having a significant effect on the health and wellness marketplace. This trend is the fifth in the series of "NMI's Top 10 Trends of 2004."

Trend #5: External Factors Shift Consumers' Health Priorities
According to NMI's most recent data, external events have had a significant effect on attitudes about personal health and wellness. Thirty-six percent of all U.S. consumers stated that they are more stressed and anxious than they used to be, while forty-one percent of middle-aged consumers admitted to being stressed. In the Northeast, fifty-six percent of consumers acknowledge feeling stressed.

"Consumers are feeling pushed and pulled in many directions," said Steve French, managing partner for NMI. "They worry about the possibility of terrorism, reminded by the nation's visible terror alert system; they worry about the economy, as illustrated by gas prices, which seem to break records daily; and they fret about political issues and the upcoming election – with daily reminders via news outlets and campaign ads. As a result, consumer concerns about individual health issues have decreased."

While the number of households concerned with preventing disease remains high, nearly across the board, consumers reported that their level of concern had declined. "We believe that consumers are reflecting a carpe diem mentality," said French. "Barraged daily with threats, be they physical or economic, that seem immediate and severe, many consumers simply are not as concerned with preventing long-term ailments such as cancer or heart disease."

While consumers worried less about long-term health issues, the percentage of consumers treating gastrointestinal issues increased, possibly due in part to internalized worries and stress. The number of households treating or managing issues such as acid reflux, indigestion, constipation, lactose intolerance, gastritis and stomach ulcers all increased significantly between 2002 and 2003.

French cautioned that concerns about personal health tend to be cyclical in nature, and that the trend is likely to reverse itself as consumers begin to feel more secure with the economy, the risk of terrorism, and as the political situation is clarified.

NMI's Top Trends of 2004 are the result of the company's annual Health and Wellness Trends Database™ and LOHAS Consumer Trends Database™ research projects, based on research studies from over 15,000 U.S. consumer households. The databases are nationally projectable to the general population and statistically valid to +/-2%.

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NMI is a strategic consulting, market research, and business development company specializing in the health, wellness, and sustainable marketplace.  This release is the third in a series of eleven articulating NMI's Top 10 Trends of 2004.  For more information visit us on-line at www.NMIsolutions.com/news.html.

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