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. Material and 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 signifi cantly 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. ResumenObjetivo: distinguir tipologías de adultos mayores según sus niveles de satisfacción con la vida y con la alimentación, y caracterizarlas según la importancia asignada a la familia, aspectos relacionados a la salud, hábitos alimentarios, estado nutricional y características sociodemográfi cas. Material y métodos: se aplicó un cuestionario a una muestra no probabilística de 817 adultos mayores de 60 años o más, de ambos sexos, residentes en zonas urbanas y rurales de la provincia de Guayas, Ecuador. El instrumento incluyó: Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL), el Índice de Calidad de Vida Relativo a la Salud (ICVRS) y la Escala de Importancia de la Familia (FIS). Se consultaron hábitos alimentarios, variables sociodemográfi cas, peso y estatura aproximada. Resultados: mediante análisis clúster se distinguieron tres tipologías que difi rieron signifi cativamente en los puntajes de la SWLS, SWFL, FIS, número de días con problemas de salud mental, autopercepción del estado de salud, índice de masa corporal, hábitos alimentarios y zona de residencia. Dos tipologías presentaron altos niveles de satisfacción con la vida y con la alimentación, aunque las variables asociadas al bienestar general y en el dominio de la alimentación fueron diferentes en cada tipología. Conclusiones: los resultados sugieren que altos niveles de satisfacción con la vida y con la alimentación en adultos mayores ecuatorianos se asocian tanto con hábitos alimentarios saludables como con almorzar en...

Community canteen services for the rural elderly: determining impacts on general mental health, nutritional status, satisfaction with life, and social capital

“…The older adults in CG were more satisfied with life than were those in the NCG. A study conducted in Ecuador showed that the higher levels of satisfaction with life in Ecuadorian seniors were associated with healthier eating habits (e.g., no lunch skipper, more nutritional diet) [28], so changes in the eating habits resulting from the canteen services might be one of the reasons for higher satisfaction with life in CG. We also considered the welfare aspect of being an important reason, because the free (or greatly subsidized) food supplied by the canteen services could save the older adults a significant portion of their usual living expenses and reduce their meal preparation burden, so the canteen services might make the older adults feel more positive about life.…”

The gender role in the relationship between food-related perceived resources and quality of life among ecuadorian elderly

“…The relationship between food consumption and QDL (Schnettler et al, 2017b;Shams, 2014;Sok, 2010) is a research topic that has scarcely been explored considering that demographic aging has become such a subject of interest (Tomás et al, 2014). On fact, aging has been related to food (Holden & Hatcher, 2006;Noll, 2007), self-perception of health (Schneider et al, 2004;Angelini et al, 2012;Angner et al, 2013) and FPR (Dean et al, 2008;Diener & Fujita, 1995;Grunert et al, 2007;Lobos et al, 2017;Schnettler Morales et al, 2014).…”

“…There is relatively little in the literature on the relation between food-related perceived resources (FPR) and satisfaction with food-related life; nevertheless, there is some evidence about the relationship between food and QDL (Berenbaum, 2002;Hausman, 2005;Schnettler et al, 2015;Schnettler et al, 2018). Food is an important component of QDL (Grunert et al, 2007;Lobos et al, 2017;Match et al, 2005;Schnettler et al, 2017a;Schnettler et al, 2017b). The idea implicit in this concept is that people have a set of FPR and the sum of these resources contributes significantly to the satisfaction with food and therefore with QDL.…”

Factores Determinantes del Bienestar Financiero y su Relación con la Calidad de Vida en una Muestra de Profesionales de Guayaquil, Ecuador

“…Los encuestados debieron indicar su grado de acuerdo con el planteamiento usando una escala Likert de 7 puntos (1 = "totalmente en desacuerdo" a 7 = "totalmente de acuerdo"). En este estudio se usó la versión en español de la SWLS, la cual ha mostrado adecuados niveles de consistencia interna en estudios previos en Ecuador (Schnettler et al 2017) y Chile (Lobos et al, 2017) con valores α = 0,84 en ambos casos. En la escala SWLS un mayor puntaje corresponde a mayores niveles de satisfacción vital.…”