High-fiber diet in HIV-positive men is associated with lower risk of developing fat deposition.
BACKGROUND
Lipodystrophy has been described with increasing frequency in patients infected with HIV. This study focused on the identification of dietary components that may predispose HIV-positive patients to the development of fat deposition.


OBJECTIVE
We evaluated differences in past dietary intake between men with HIV who developed fat deposition and those who did not.


METHODS
This nested case-control study consisted of 47 cases and 47 controls from the Nutrition for Healthy Living cohort. Food records from 6 to 24 mo before development of fat deposition in cases were analyzed and compared with food records from controls by using t tests for normally distributed nutrients and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests for nutrients with skewed distributions.


RESULTS
HIV-positive patients without fat deposition had greater overall energy intakes (kcal/kg; P = 0.03) and greater intakes of total protein (P = 0.01), total dietary fiber (P = 0.01), soluble dietary fiber (P = 0.01), insoluble dietary fiber (P = 0.03), and pectin (P = 0.02) than did HIV-positive patients with fat deposition. Those without fat deposition also tended to currently perform more resistance training (P = 0.05) and to not be current smokers (P = 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that an overall high-quality diet, rich in fiber and adequate in energy and protein, may be beneficial in preventing the development of fat deposition in persons infected with HIV. The results of this study further emphasize that a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and avoidance of unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, may also be similarly beneficial.
Hendricks
Kristy M
KM
Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA. kristy.hendricks@tufts.edu
Dong
Kimberly R
KR
Tang
Alice M
AM
Ding
Bei
B
Spiegelman
Donna
D
Woods
Margo N
MN
Wanke
Christine A
CA
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008060:Lipodystrophy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors