Food supplements and HIV

doi:10.1136/bmj.b932

Published 22 May 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b932
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b932

Editorials

Food supplements and HIV

More is not necessarily better

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Food does not just provide energy and nutrients but is a partof how we live and interact with each other. Food insecurityerodes these needs and values, and it introduces ethical complexitiesfor researchers and health services. If HIV is added to thescenario, then it becomes even more confusing. The linked randomisedcontrolled trial by Ndekha and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.b1867)compares the effect of two nutritional interventions on clinicaloutcomes, including weight gain and lean body mass, in adultswith HIV who are receiving antiretroviral therapy.¹

People with HIV have greater nutritional needs than those without.²Evidence supports funding for programmes that provide nutritionalsupport to adults and children with HIV, especially those whoare malnourished or have opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis.Improved nutritional outcomes are reported in adults and childrenon antiretroviral therapy who receive additional energy andmicronutrients.³ Such gains may represent the recovery . . . [Full text of this article]

Nigel Rollins, scientist, Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development

¹ World Health Organization, Geneva 1211, Switzerland

rollinsn@who.int

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Supplementary feeding with either ready-to-use fortified spread or corn-soy blend in wasted adults starting antiretroviral therapy in Malawi: randomised, investigator blinded, controlled trial: MacDonald J Ndekha, Joep J G van Oosterhout, Eduard E Zijlstra, Micah Manary, Haroon Saloojee, and Mark J Manary
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