This week we studied nutrition, making healthy food and portion choices, and managing stress effectively.

For your Unit 4 Complete assignment, write a narrative essay (minimum of 1000 words) in which you address and discuss the questions and statements listed below.  Use at least three scholarly sources and remember to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the READ and ATTEND sections in your essay.  Please make sure to cite your sources in APA format. 

• After perusing the information on choosemyplate.gov, describe in detail how your diet compares to the USDA dietary guidelines and explain if you feel as if you would or would not benefit from utilizing the tools designed to evaluate and track the quality of your diet over time with the MyPlate website.
• In his book, Mindless Eating, Dr. Brian Wansink presents a somewhat different approach to eating.   Based on his research, Dr. Wansink contends that subtle and almost imperceptible cues and prompts in our day contribute to a tendency to overeat.  His research on labels and containers led to the development of the 100-calorie snack packages.  He also advocates for eating with smaller plates and drinking from taller glasses since it tricks our minds into thinking that we ate or drank more than we did.  By better understanding cues that lead us to eat, we can set habits and environments that help us to eat less.  Rather than changing the foods we eat, the method of “mindless eating” focuses on how we can modify our perceptions of food to regulate intake.  Take a closer look at Mindless Eating on the internet to better understand the ideas.  Discuss whether you think this is a novel approach or just another fad diet and explain if you do or do not believe that this mental approach to weight control would help you better regulate your weight.
• The recent “Stress in America” report from the American Psychological Association provides insights about patterns and trends in stress.  Although sources and consequences of stress are similar for men and women, there are many key differences in how each gender reports and perceives stress.  Visit the StressinAmerca.org website to take a closer look at stress patterns and trends.  Discuss any interesting patterns or relationships you observe for gender, region, or generation.  Then describe and explain if you are or are not surprised that there are gender, age, or generational differences in stress ratings.