Patients with HIV are now often overweight or obese
Although the hallmark of HIV/AIDS used to be excessive weight loss, HIV-infected adults are now becoming overweight and even obese, right along with the rest of America, reported at the Infectious Disease Society of America annual meeting.
Just 15 years ago, excess weight loss (wasting) was a telltale sign of HIV/AIDS. In a new study of 663 HIV-positive adults, none met the strictest definition of wasting, and 63 percent were either overweight or obese. This is comparable to the American general public, 66 percent of whom are overweight or obese.
Because a lot of people equate HIV with wasting, it could be that many with the disease are concerned that others will be able to tell they are HIV positive if they’re too thin. So they make it a point to gain weight when they’re diagnosed, according to the lead investigator of the presented study with the TriService AIDS Clinical Consortium, San Diego.
Participants were recruited from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and the National Naval Medicine Center in Bethesda, Md. Only 3 percent of the patients met the loosest definition for wasting (BMI ≤ 20 kg/m2), and none met the stricter definition (BMI ≤ 18.5 kg/m2). In contrast, 46 percent were overweight, and 17 percent were obese. Over the course of their infection, 72 percent of patients gained weight. Of patients with full-blown AIDS, 29 percent were overweight or obese.
Those patients who were younger when diagnosed with HIV or who had a longer duration of HIV infection were found to be more likely to gain weight, as were those with a high CD4 count. No relationship was found between the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy and the likelihood of being overweight.
These findings are especially notable because most of the study participants were either current or former military personnel, and studies show that such individuals are more likely to be in shape than the general public.
It was suggested that physicians consider screening their HIV-positive patients for weight gain and possibly recommending prevention and education programs.
The take-home message is that, because of the potent antiretroviral medications, HIV has now been relegated to a chronic illness just like hypertension and diabetes. As such, HIV patients may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese just like the general US population.
Patients with HIV are now often overweight or obese