IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i4p1553-d494620.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Well-Being and the Lifestyle Habits of the Spanish Population: The Association between Subjective Well-Being and Eating Habits

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Cabiedes-Miragaya

    (Research Group in Sociology of Food, Department of Applied Economics, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain)

  • Cecilia Diaz-Mendez

    (Research Group in Sociology of Food, Department of Sociology, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain)

  • Isabel García-Espejo

    (Research Group in Sociology of Food, Department of Sociology, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain)

Abstract

The so-called Mediterranean diet is not simply a collection of foodstuffs but an expression of the culture of the countries of the south of Europe, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Despite the link between food and culture, little has been studied about how diet contributes to the well-being of the population. This article aims to analyze the association between subjective well-being and the eating habits of the Spanish population in order to gain a better understanding of the subjective well-being that food culture produces. For this study, we used a representative sample of the Spanish adult population from a survey by the Sociological Research Center (CIS 2017). Three indicators of subjective well-being were used: perceived health, life satisfaction, and feeling of happiness. The independent variables relating to eating habits considered in the analysis were, among others, how often meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, and sweets were consumed; how the food was prepared; how often meals were eaten out at restaurants or cafés and how often they were eaten with family or friends. Other independent variables related to lifestyle habits were also included in the analysis, in particular, physical exercise and body mass index. We used ordinal logistic regressions and multiple linear regression models. Our findings coincide in large measure with those obtained in earlier studies where perceived health and income play a key role in evaluating subjective well-being. In turn, several variables related to lifestyle habits, such as consuming sweets and fruits, social interaction around meals, exercising, and body mass index, were also associated with subjective well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Cabiedes-Miragaya & Cecilia Diaz-Mendez & Isabel García-Espejo, 2021. "Well-Being and the Lifestyle Habits of the Spanish Population: The Association between Subjective Well-Being and Eating Habits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-13, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1553-:d:494620
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1553/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1553/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve & Ed Diener & Louis Tay & Cody Xuereb, 2013. "The Objective Benefits of Subjective Well-Being," CEP Discussion Papers dp1236, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Luis Rayo & Gary S. Becker, 2010. "Happiness, Income and Economic Policy," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 8(04), pages 13-16, January.
    3. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    4. Namkee Ahn, "undated". "Life Satisfaction among Spanish Workers: Importance of Intangible Job Characteristics," Working Papers 2005-17, FEDEA.
    5. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-484, July.
    6. Luis Rayo & Gary S. Becker, 2010. "Happiness, Income and Economic Policy," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 8(4), pages 13-16, 01.
    7. P. Sancho & J. M. Tomás & A. Oliver & L. Galiana & M. Gutiérrez, 2020. "Predicting Life satisfaction in Spanish Adults of Advancing Age Attending University Educational Programs," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 271-287, January.
    8. repec:ces:ifodic:v:8:y:2010:i:4:p:14994841 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Muhammad F. Bhuiyan & Radek S. Szulga, 2017. "Extreme bounds of subjective well-being: economic development and micro determinants of life satisfaction," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(14), pages 1351-1378, March.
    10. Dolan, Paul & Peasgood, Tessa & White, Mathew, 2008. "Do we really know what makes us happy A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 94-122, February.
    11. Paweł Chrostek, 2016. "An Empirical Investigation into the Determinants and Persistence of Happiness and Life Evaluation," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 413-430, February.
    12. Zhanjia Zhang & Weiyun Chen, 2019. "A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1305-1322, April.
    13. Juncal Cuñado & Fernando Gracia, 2012. "Does Education Affect Happiness? Evidence for Spain," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 108(1), pages 185-196, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. F. Xavier Medina, 2021. "Mediterranean Diet: The Need for Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-5, May.
    2. Vanda Andrade & Stefano Quarta & Marta Tagarro & Lence Miloseva & Marika Massaro & Mihail Chervenkov & Teodora Ivanova & Rui Jorge & Viktorija Maksimova & Katarina Smilkov & Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova &, 2022. "Exploring Hedonic and Eudaimonic Items of Well-Being in Mediterranean and Non-Mediterranean Countries: Influence of Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bhuiyan, Muhammad Faress & Ivlevs, Artjoms, 2019. "Micro-entrepreneurship and subjective well-being: Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 625-645.
    2. Mzoughi, Naoufel, 2014. "Do organic farmers feel happier than conventional ones? An exploratory analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 38-43.
    3. Tsegay Gebrekidan Tekleselassie, 2017. "Subjective Wellbeing and Institutions: The Case of Rural Ethiopia," Working Papers 016, Policy Studies Institute.
    4. Xiangdan Piao & Xinxin Ma & Tetsuya Tsurumi & Shunsuke Managi, 2022. "Social Capital, Negative Event, Life Satisfaction and Sustainable Community: Evidence from 37 Countries," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1311-1330, June.
    5. Matthew D Rablen, 2012. "The promotion of local wellbeing: A primer for policymakers," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 27(3), pages 297-314, May.
    6. Martin Binder & Felix Ward, 2011. "The Structure of Happiness: A Vector Autoregressive Approach," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2011-08, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    7. Marijana Andrijić & Tajana Barbić, 2021. "When the Going Gets Tough … the Effect of Economic Reform Programmes on National Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    8. Pénard, Thierry & Poussing, Nicolas & Suire, Raphaël, 2013. "Does the Internet make people happier?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 105-116.
    9. Francesco Ferrante, 2017. "Great Expectations: The Unintended Consequences of Educational Choices," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 745-767, March.
    10. Miha Dominko & Miroslav Verbič, 2019. "The Economics of Subjective Well-Being: A Bibliometric Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 1973-1994, August.
    11. Yuta J. Masuda & Jason R. Williams & Heather Tallis, 2021. "Does Life Satisfaction Vary with Time and Income? Investigating the Relationship Among Free Time, Income, and Life Satisfaction," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 2051-2073, June.
    12. Xiangdan Piao & Xinxin Ma & Shunsuke Managi, 2021. "Impact of the Intra-household Education Gap on Wives’ and Husbands’ Well-Being: Evidence from Cross-Country Microdata," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 111-136, July.
    13. Baetschmann, Gregori & Staub, Kevin E. & Studer, Raphael, 2016. "Does the stork deliver happiness? Parenthood and life satisfaction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 242-260.
    14. Bahadır Dursun & Resul Cesur, 2016. "Transforming lives: the impact of compulsory schooling on hope and happiness," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(3), pages 911-956, July.
    15. Tekleselassie, Tsegay Gebrekidan, 2016. "Three essays on the impact of institutions and policies on socio-economic outcomes," Economics PhD Theses 1316, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    16. Laetitia Duval & François-Charles Wolff, 2016. "“I even met happy gypsies”," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 24(4), pages 727-764, October.
    17. Christian Schubert, 2012. "Pursuing Happiness," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 245-261, May.
    18. Sarah Flèche, 2015. "Distaste for Centralization: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in Switzerland," CEP Discussion Papers dp1383, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    19. Roberta Distante, 2013. "Subjective Well-Being, Income and Relative Concerns in the UK," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 81-105, August.
    20. Avom, Desire & Yselle Malah, Flora, 2022. "Social media and happiness nexus in the millennial generation," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1553-:d:494620. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.