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L. D’Arcy et al.
multiple needs and align with the motivations of all women interested. Follow up
focus groups with participants will further explore how clothing might fit into the
lifestyles of women; functionally, expressively and aesthetically, in accordance with
the FEA consumer needs model [33]. Participants will be grouped according to their
BMI, mutual interests and motivations to wear the functional clothing, to allow for
common interests and concerns to be discussed.
6 Limitations
The scoping nature of the study aimed to explore general interest and opportunity
of functional clothing to optimise metabolic energy consumption and therefore did
not focus on the potential negative impacts of the clothing such as the potential
discomfort of restricted movement. Whilst respondents were offered the opportunity to further comment on the clothing in the final open-ended question, the total
number of valid responses (n = 61) did not reflect the concerns of the total sample of
women surveyed (n = 502). Additionally, the questionnaire design did not include
any visuals to reference the clothing under study which could have influenced the
level of thorough understanding. However, this was purposeful, to allow respondents
to speculate about the design, which will provide further insights in the secondary
phase of the research. Another limitation, well-critiqued across literature, suggests
that self-reporting physical activity leads to inaccurate results in certain BMI categories [34]. However, due to the scoping nature of the study, it was deemed suitable
to deliver a general understanding of physical activity undertaken. Further insight
into the user’s physical activity and movement will be explored in the following
stages of the research, which will adopt more in-depth methods including behavioural
observation, motion sensors and wearable activity trackers.
7 Conclusion
The results determined a positive level of interest in functional clothing to optimise
metabolic consumption across all BMI classifications and thus, the exploratory aim
of the study has been achieved. In addition to this, the thematic analysis delivered
further insight into the concerns and additional needs of women, which highlighted
the importance of follow-up focus group discussions.
References
1. Hill JO, Wyatt HR, Peters JC (2013) The importance of energy balance. European Enforincol
9(2):111–115
L. D’Arcy et al.
multiple needs and align with the motivations of all women interested. Follow up
focus groups with participants will further explore how clothing might fit into the
lifestyles of women; functionally, expressively and aesthetically, in accordance with
the FEA consumer needs model [33]. Participants will be grouped according to their
BMI, mutual interests and motivations to wear the functional clothing, to allow for
common interests and concerns to be discussed.
6 Limitations
The scoping nature of the study aimed to explore general interest and opportunity
of functional clothing to optimise metabolic energy consumption and therefore did
not focus on the potential negative impacts of the clothing such as the potential
discomfort of restricted movement. Whilst respondents were offered the opportunity to further comment on the clothing in the final open-ended question, the total
number of valid responses (n = 61) did not reflect the concerns of the total sample of
women surveyed (n = 502). Additionally, the questionnaire design did not include
any visuals to reference the clothing under study which could have influenced the
level of thorough understanding. However, this was purposeful, to allow respondents
to speculate about the design, which will provide further insights in the secondary
phase of the research. Another limitation, well-critiqued across literature, suggests
that self-reporting physical activity leads to inaccurate results in certain BMI categories [34]. However, due to the scoping nature of the study, it was deemed suitable
to deliver a general understanding of physical activity undertaken. Further insight
into the user’s physical activity and movement will be explored in the following
stages of the research, which will adopt more in-depth methods including behavioural
observation, motion sensors and wearable activity trackers.
7 Conclusion
The results determined a positive level of interest in functional clothing to optimise
metabolic consumption across all BMI classifications and thus, the exploratory aim
of the study has been achieved. In addition to this, the thematic analysis delivered
further insight into the concerns and additional needs of women, which highlighted
the importance of follow-up focus group discussions.
References
1. Hill JO, Wyatt HR, Peters JC (2013) The importance of energy balance. European Enforincol
9(2):111–115