Introduction: Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) gives people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) a new perspective of life, although some develop changes in impaired body composition. This study aimed to assess the factors associated with changes in body composition in PLWHA using ART, depending food consumption.
Material and methods: It was a cross-sectional study and took place through interviews with patients treated at an University Hospital. Secondary data: CD4+ T cells, ART time and age. The level of physical activity and smoking were self-reported. For the assessment of body composition, electrical bioimpedance and measurements of weight, height and waist circumference were used.
Results: The highest percentages of fat mass and fat-free mass, in treatment for more than 5 years, were in the female group (p <0.01), aged> 50 years (p = 0.02) and in the male group (p <0.01), young adult (p <0.01), respectively. The final linear regression model for both free fat mass and fat mass had sex, age, smoking and nutritional diagnosis as relevant factors. The frequency of food consumption was inadequate for calories, carbohydrates, proteins and lipids was high, however it did not significantly influence body composition.
Conclusions: Gender, age, smoking and nutritional diagnosis by BMI significantly influence body composition.
Keywords: Body composition; HIV; antiretroviral therapy; food consumption.