Life satisfaction and satisfaction with food-related life are associated with healthy eating habits, family interaction around eating and family support. The present study evaluates the relationship between satisfaction with food-related life and satisfaction with family life, and their relationship with life satisfaction in university students. We identify the relationship of two different types of family support and student satisfaction with family life and explore a moderator effect of gender. A questionnaire was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 370 students of both genders (mean age 21 years) in Chile, including Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFoL) scale, Satisfaction with Family Life (SWFaL) scale and the Family Resources Scale (FRS). Using structural equation modelling, we found that students’ life satisfaction was related to satisfaction with family life and food-related life. A high positive relationship was identified between intangible family support and students’ satisfaction with family life, which would have a mediating role between intangible support and life satisfaction. Using multi-group analysis, a moderator effect of gender was not found. These findings suggest that improving satisfaction with food-related life, satisfaction with family life and intangible family support is important for both female and male students.

Family is a major determinant of children’s and adolescents’ eating behavior. The objectives of the present study were to assess diet quality, eating habits, satisfaction with life, family life, and food-related life in mother–father–adolescent triads, and to identify profiles of families according to family members’ diet quality. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 300 two-parent families with one child over the age of 10 in the city of Temuco (Chile), including the Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFoL) scale, Satisfaction with Family Life (SWFaL) scales, and questions relating to their eating habits. Positive relationships were found between the diet quality of the family members, particularly between mothers and adolescents. Three family profiles with different diet qualities were identified: “families with an unhealthy diet” (39.3%), “families in which mothers and adolescents have healthy diets, but the fathers’ diets require changes” (14.3%), and “families that require changes in their diet” (46.4%). These findings stress the key role of mothers in determining family diet quality and suggest a positive relationship between diet quality and satisfaction with life.