title: Satisfaction with life and food-related life in Ecuadorian older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To distinguish typologies of seniors according to their levels of satisfaction with life and food-related life, and to characterize them according to the importance assigned to family, health-related aspects, eating habits, nutritional status and sociodemographic characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 817 seniors aged 60 years and over, of both genders, resident in urban and rural zones of the province of Guayas, Ecuador. The instrument included: Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL), the Health-related Quality of Life Index (HRQOL-4) and the Family Importance Scale (FIS). Eating habits, sociodemographic variables, approximate weight and height were asked about.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A cluster analysis was used to distinguish three typologies that differed significantly in the scores on the SWLS, SWFL, FIS, number of days with mental health problems, self-perception of health status, body mass index, eating habits and zone of residence. Two typologies presented high levels of satisfaction with life and food-related life, although the variables associated with overall well-being and in the food domain were different in each typology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that high levels of satisfaction with life and food-related life in Ecuadorian seniors are associated with both healthful eating habits and having lunch in company, fewer mental health problems and greater importance assigned to family.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Forestales. Universidad de La Frontera. Chile. berta.schnettler@ufrontera.cl.
authors.forename: Berta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schnettler
authors.forename: Germán
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lobos
authors.forename: María Del Carmen
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lapo
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Adasme-Berríos
authors.forename: Clementina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hueche
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004435:Eating; D004484:Ecuador / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Satisfaction with life.  Satisfaction with  food-related life.  Older adults. Eating  habits. Health.