Effect of Fish Meal Replacement by Unconventional Meal in the Post-Larval Diet of Clarias Gariepinus in Benin (West Africa)

To reduce the pressure on aquatic resources due to the use of fishmeal in fish feed, the mastery and use of alternative sources of fishmeal in all stages of fish development are essential. Five diets including 4 experimental and one control diet were considered. Experimental diets of post-larvae were developed from unconventional ingredients in which fishmeal was completely replaced by a mixture of brewer’s yeast, chicken viscera and maggots. These foods were tested on Clarias gariepinus post-larvae with an initial average weight of 80 ± 1 mg. 1500 fish individuals were equally distributed in 15 concrete basins with a volume of 500 L forming five treatments in triplicate. Fish individuals were fed, manually at a ration rate of 20%, four times per day. The specific growth rates were 8.38%/day in imported food and 6.35%/day in the experimental food receiving 45.5% of protein from unconventional meal. Similar results were obtained with the feed consumption index. These encouraging results show that it is possible to partially or completely replace fishmeal in catfish feed and obtain an economically profitable production. The recovery of waste such as chicken viscera, brewer’s yeast and soybean meal in fish food formulation as tested in this study is a good contribution to environmental sanitation.

Comprehensive lifestyle intervention vs soy protein-based meal regimen in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

BACKGROUND Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) has become one of the leading causes of liver disease in the western world. In obese patients weight reduction is recommended. Up to now there are no specific guidelines for weight loss in order to reduce hepatic fat content.AIM To investigate the effects of a 24-wk guided lifestyle intervention program compared to a meal replacement regimen based on soy protein.METHODS Twenty-six subjects with NASH participated in a randomized single-center study. They were randomly assigned to either meal replacement group(MR-G)with soy-yogurt-honey preparation or to guided lifestyle change group(LC-G)with endurance activity and nutrition counselling. Serum alanine transaminase(ALT), aspartate transaminase(AST), lipid parameters, and adipokines were measured. Liver fat content and lipid composition were determined by magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Body fat mass and lean body mass were assessed using Bod Pod? device. Pre-and post-intervention monitoring of parameters was performed. Statistical analyses were conducted with SPSS software, results were expressed as median(interquartile range).RESULTS Twenty-two subjects(MR-G, n = 11 and LC-G, n = 11) completed the study(9 women, 13 men; age 52.1(15.0) years, body mass index(BMI) 32.3(3.3) kg/m^2).In both groups a significant weight loss was achieved(MR-G:-6.4(3.6) kg, P <0.01; LC-G:-9.1(10.4) kg, P < 0.01). BMI dropped in both groups(MR-G:-2.3(1.5)kg/m^2, P = 0.003; LC-G:-3.0(3.4) kg/m^2, P = 0.006). Internal fat and hepatic lipid content were markedly reduced in both groups in comparable amount. There was a strong correlation between reduction in liver fat and decrease in ALT.Likewise, both groups showed an improvement in glycemic control and lipid profile. Changes in adipokines, particularly in adiponectin and leptin were closely related to intrahepatic lipid changes.CONCLUSION Comprehensive lifestyle intervention and meal replacement regimen have comparable effects on body and liver fat, as well as decrease in markers of hepatic inflammation among NASH patients.

Healthy Habits Associated with Successful Weight Loss Maintenance on a Commercial Program: Learnings from a Research Survey

Background: Maintenance of lost weight is a challenging aspect of weight management, therefore, an online survey of OPTAVIA (“the Program”) coaches and clients was conducted to understand the habits of successful maintainers. Methods: Coaches and clients who lost ≥ 10% body weight on the Program, had been trying to maintain their weight loss for ≥1 year, and maintained > 75% of their weight loss during that time were identified. Mean ± SD were calculated for continuous variables and categorical variables were quantified using frequencies and percentages. Results: The analysis included 590 respondents (342 coaches, 248 clients;84% female, 52.6 ± 11.9 years). Average weight loss was 23.7% ± 8.6%;average time in maintenance was 24.5 ± 15.8 months. The most common maintenance strategies included self-monitoring, leveraging habits learned during weight loss, food-related strategies, physical activity, establishing a healthy environment, and becoming a coach. Coaches identified several beneficial factors: higher accountability, increased self-awareness, paying it forward, aligning maintenance with their identity as a coach, being a role model, and engagement with the Program. Conclusions: Successful coaches and clients use behaviors consistent with existing literature combined with several unique to the Program. The novel insights from this research rest primarily on the strategy of becoming a coach to help maintain weight loss.

Water Quality and Growth Performance of Nile Tilapia Fries Fed on Insect-Based Feeds

Fish feed is one of the main constraints on the growth of aquaculture in Kenya. The lack of high-quality and competitively priced feeds means that the fish farmers are unable to expand their production. To ensure that aquaculture remains viable and sustainable, it is necessary to optimize production through the utilization of locally available feeding materials. Insect-based feeds are alternative least-cost feeding resource in fish production. Using alternative protein sources such as black soldier fly larvae (BSF) and daphnia meal in place of fishmeal (Omena and Dagaa) is an ingenious strategy for sustainable fish aquaculture. This study evaluated the effect of four treatments: BSF, daphnia, Omena from Lake Victoria and Dagaa from Lake Tanganyika on the fish pond environmental parameters and fish fries’ performance (body weight and length). The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse with 30 fingerlings in each experimental unit. The feeding trials took 23 days. Results indicated that the four treatments have a varied effect on the BW and L of fish fries. A high growth rate was observed in Daphia, followed by BSF, Omena and Dagaa in that order. On the other hand, the treatments have varied effects on pond parameters with BSF promoting too much growth of algae. BSF have higher amounts of ammonia, nitrates and phosphorus, which stimulate the high growth of algae.