Food satisfaction in Mapuche persons in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile

Although the study and measurement of satisfaction with life has generated great interest in the last 15 years, there are few works which address satisfaction with food-related life. In order to identify variables which have an influence on satisfaction with food-related life among Mapuche persons, a survey was applied to 400 Mapuche subjects in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. The scales evaluated in the questionnaire included: SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life), lifestyles, food, and Mapuche acculturation. It was found that 41.0% were extremely satisfied, 40.5% satisfied, 17.2% somewhat satisfied and 1.2% dissatisfied with their food-related life. To identify variables which have an influence on satisfaction with food, an ordinal multinomial logit model was proposed, which was significant (p < 0.01) as a whole. The probability of high satisfaction with food-related life increases as there are fewer children in the household, the person's expenditure on food increases, the person consumes some Mapuche foods, is aged 55 or more, consumes red meat in moderation, consumes foods without additives, try to balance work and private life, does not read the labels of products, and if he/she had Mapuche friends at school. Thus satisfaction with food-related life in Mapuche persons in the Metropolitan Region is related to demographic variables, expenditure on food, consumption of Mapuche foods and life-style.