Mental energy: Defining the science.

The concept of “mental energy” has received considerable public and private interest, but little scientific attention. For the public, mental energy is relevant for routines of daily living (e.g., job performance, social commitments) and for perceived health (i.e., quality of life). From a business perspective, mental energy is the target of marketing efforts aimed at selling products purporting to boost an individual’s level of energy or decrease his or her level of fatigue. Although few researchers have a focused interest on mental energy, it is relevant for studies involving health and disease. Elucidating the mechanisms that underlie aspects of mental energy ultimately may lead to improved quality of life for consumers. However, the lack of scientific investigation has resulted in confusion about how to best conceptualize and measure mental energy. Previous reports have addressed how the basic concept of “energy” is viewed by the public, the scientific community, and regulatory agencies, and whether the necessary tools exist to scientifically determine the effect of foods on “mental state and performance.” The general conclusions were that consumers and researchers do not necessarily view the concept of energy in the same way, and that the scientific concepts of mental state and performance are no different than phenomena being studied in other fields of life science. Therefore, the methodologies to measure energy and scientifically validate it exist, and basic research is needed to determine the physiological and pharmacological mechanisms that underlie the perception of energy. The specific concept of mental energy was the focus of a workshop hosted November 8–9, 2004 by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI NA) Technical Committee on Energy. The workshop brought together a diverse group of professionals representing industry, regulatory agencies, and the scientific community to explore mental energy from multiple perspectives. The goals of the workshop were to examine the concept of mental energy from public, private, and research interests, and to identify scientific, regulatory, and communication needs to further our understanding of mental energy and to better inform consumers. A preliminary model of mental energy was presented and thoroughly critiqued. Proceedings from this workshop are summarized and available on the ILSI NA website (www.ilsina.org), which contains abstracts from each of the invited presentations, commentaries on the methods presented for assessing various dimensions of mental energy, and a description of the perspectives presented that are related to regulatory and communications issues. This special supplement to Nutrition Reviews contains a series of articles that explain the development of a definition and model for mental energy, including methods for assessing its domains. We hope this summary of the workshop proceedings and the following articles will stimulate the scientific community to design studies on the effects of dietary interventions on mental energy from the proposed conceptual framework. The goal is to help to develop the scientific basis for substantiation of claims that purport to maintain or enhance mental energy.