Dessert – Nutrition, Weight and HIV

Dessert – Nutrition, Weight and HIV

Regardless of HIV status, the equation is simple: Your body weight is a result of how many calories you take in through food and how many calories you use up through all the activities of your day. This equation is called energy balance, and HIV can affect energy balance by increasing the amount of energy used up in the fight against the virus.

Your weight is an indicator of whether or not your energy needs are being balanced by your food intake. In this section we take a look at weight and what to do when weight gets too low or too high.

Energy balance

The body requires fuel each day to have energy to perform all the activities required to sustain life, from the pumping of your heart to your walk in the park. Calories are the measure of energy or fuel that food provides. All foods provide calories: carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 calories per gram and fat provides 9 calories per gram.

REE (resting energy expenditure) is a measure of the number of calories needed by a person when the body is at complete rest. Research has shown that asymptomatic people with HIV have an REE that is slightly increased, by about 10%, because of the widespread effects of chronic inflammation caused by the virus.