Real World Adherence to a Severely Energy Restricted Meal Replacement Diet in Participants with Class II and III Obesity

Severely energy-restricted diets (SERDs) are an effective treatment for obesity, however, adherence to such diets is often perceived as poor by healthcare professionals. This investigation evaluated adherence to a 12-week SERD in participants with class II and III obesity. Reported food consumption was compared against individualised SERD prescriptions. Body weight measures were obtained at baseline, 12 and 52 weeks. The data were analysed in three groups (i) the entire cohort (n = 26), (ii) completers (n = 13) and (iii) non-completers (n = 13). SERD prescription elements included (i) the number of meal replacement products; (ii) total protein; (iii) total energy intake; (iv) level of dietary energy restriction; (v) vegetable serves; (vi) water serves, and (vii) how much physical activity was performed. A generalised repeated-measures mixed-effects model was used to investigate if adherence to the program elements individually, or collectively, influenced weight loss. Completers had an average (± SD) of 4549 ± 748 kJ energy intake per day, resulting in a mean energy restriction of 62% compared to the 69% prescribed, indicating a degree of non-adherence. The percent weight changes for completers and non-completers were −7.8 ± 4.7% and −1.6 ± 2.6% at 12 weeks, and −12.2 ± 12.1% and −1.8 ± 3.2% at 52 weeks, respectively. Complete dietary adherence to a SERD may not be necessary to achieve a clinically relevant weight loss of 12% at 52 weeks, if energy is restricted by at least 62% (~4600 kJ per day) relative to requirements.

Formulating a novel fermented soy milk functional meal replacement among overweight individuals: a preliminary weight loss clinical trial

Meal replacement is an optimising strategy in designing structured diets for weight management. In this study, a novel fermented soy-whey based beverage was fortified with dietary bioactive ingredients containing probiotic strains (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus). The aim of this study was to evaluate its efficacy on the body weight loss of participants pre-and post-meal replacement. A total of 20 participants underwent the weight loss program. Over the 14-day trial, women volunteers had a body weight loss of 6.70% of their initial body weight, and men had a comparable body weight reduction of 6.18%. In comparison to the blood glucose baseline level of 3.5420 mmol/L, the meal replacement decreased the level of blood glucose by nearly 50%, reaching 1.7785 mmol/L. Total cholesterol level was reduced by the beverage with a 15.7% reduction. The functional drink also decreased the triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein significantly (p<0.001). A significantly higher level of high-density lipoprotein was obtained at Day 14 (1.73 mmol/L) compared with Day 0 (1.23 mmol/L). The meal replacement was able to provide satiety within the average of 180.7 minutes post-meal. This study supports the soy-based functional milk is of benefit for weight management, glucose homeostasis and blood cholesterol-lowering effect.

Development of a Convenient Home Meal Replacement Product Containing Roasted Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) with Honey Butter Sauce

Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) has high nutritional value and market demand. However, it is generally sold as a raw product, which suffers from lengthy preparation, low commercial value, and a short shelf life. To address these problems, we processed abalone as a home meal replacement (HMR) product using superheated steam and quick freezing technology. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the roasting process. A test HMR product was produced by mixing roasted abalone with honey butter sauce at a ratio of 70:30 (w/w), then evaluated for its physicochemical, biological, and nutritional characteristics and shelf life. Roasting abalone at 220 °C for 2 min resulted in high scores for hardness and overall acceptance. The roasting process successfully maintained the chemical characteristics of abalone, including pH, volatile basic nitrogen, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. The sensory characteristics of the test HMR product were maintained using quick freezing methods. Moreover, nutritional analysis revealed that the test HMR product contained macro- and micronutrients, amino acids, and fatty acids, which could contribute to meeting daily nutritional needs. The estimated shelf life of the product was 30 months. Therefore, this study successfully developed a high-quality HMR product containing abalone.

Study on Utilization of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens) as Protein Substitute in the Pellet Diet of Clarias gariepenus Fingerling

Fish farming faces the challenge of the high cost of feeds because of the cost of high-quality protein like fish meal required in food formulations. Therefore, the need for alternative protein sources is much needed. Black soldier larvae (Hermetia illucens) are alternative feed containing high protein. BSF larvae contain high protein levels (42.7% dry matter; DM). Fish diets should contain 32% to 45% protein content. Therefore, it can be a substitute for a fish meal. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of freshwater fish meal replacement with black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) on the growth rate of Clarias gariepenus fingerling. The effect of freshwater fish meal replacement with black soldier fly larvae (BSFLM) was investigated. This study involved the cultivation of Clarias gariepenus fingerling given BSFLM and a commercial diet. The results showed a difference between the weight gains of C. gariepenus, which were 6.46g in BSFLM, while the commercial diet was 1.9g during 28 days of experiments. There was also no significant difference (p <.05) in the mean weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), and survival rate. Using BSFLM as an alternative source of protein in fish farming can reduce costs in the aquaculture industry without changing its quality.

Effect of Steam and Smoke Cooking Processes on Web-Foot Octopus (Amphioctopus sp.) Home Meal Replacement Product

In Korea, the web-foot octopus (Amphioctopus sp.) is commonly consumed as jjukkumi bokkeum, a spicy stir-fried octopus dish. Using steaming and smoking methods, we made jjukkumi bokkeum home meal replacement (HMR) products. The response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the steam and smoke processes. Quick freezing was applied to freeze the test product at −35 °C. Then, the physicochemical, biological, nutritional characteristics, and shelf-life of the test HMR products were evaluated. The optimal conditions for steaming and smoking were 95 °C for 2 min and 70 °C for 11 min, respectively. The pH, volatile basic nitrogen content, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances content decreased after steaming and smoking, indicating that these processes maintained these parameters well. Sensory evaluation revealed that there were no changes in these characteristics after freezing and reheating. Further, the test HMR products contained the daily nutritional requirements of macro and micronutrients, as well as amino acids and fatty acids. The shelf-life of the HMR products was estimated to be 15 months. The findings of this study indicate that the application of steam and smoke processes to produce a jjukkumi bokkeum HMR product results in a high-quality product with a long shelf-life.