Role for Nutrition in HIV management

Eating more low-fat dairy products alongside fruit and vegetables boosts nutrient intakes and may help HIV patients to maintain a healthy body weight, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The ’Nutrition for Healthy Living’ study, led by the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, School of Medicine and the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University in Boston, assessed the link between dietary patterns, nutrient intake and weight in 348 HIV-positive men.

The results showed that those consuming a diet with more low-fat dairy (approximately 170g/day) alongside fruit and vegetables had a higher body weight than those consuming less low-fat dairy (67.3g/day).

Dr Judith Bryans, Director of the Dairy Council says: "Maintaining a healthy weight and ensuring patients have a good nutrient intake are both important in managing HIV. It is about quality of the diet not just quantity of food. This study demonstrates the importance of low-fat dairy products play a critical role in delivering energy, protein, vitamins and calcium which are all needed for good health.

Wasting associated with the disease is known to confer an increased risk of mortality. Yet the authors of the study note that this should not drive individuals living with HIV to consume ’empty’ calories such as those found in some fast foods.

The authors conclude that "As HIV becomes a more chronic disease and the management of HIV becomes increasingly sophisticated, the ability to ensure that HIV infected persons have access to high quality, nutritious food choices that promote optimal dietary patterns, rather than just sufficient quantities of food, will also be increasingly important."