Effect of nutrition education on nutritional knowledge, food consumption, energy expenditure and body composition in people living with HIV
Food and nutritional education; Nutritional Assessment; HIV serodiagnosis
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has prolonged the life expectancy of people living with HIV (PLHIV), but its prolonged use has been associated with metabolic changes that affect nutritional status. In this context, knowledge about food and nutrition plays a crucial role in promoting healthy food choices, preventing health complications. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a food and nutrition education (FNE) intervention on nutritional knowledge, food consumption, energy expenditure and body composition in PLHIV. The randomized, controlled, unblinded clinical trial involved 16 participants of both sexes. The results showed an interaction effect between time and condition, with significant differences in nutritional knowledge: experimental intragroup (p=0.015) and between groups (p=0.005), both in 60 days; in food consumption between groups (p=0.014) and within the control group (p<0.001), both in 60 days; in the percentage of body fat within the experimental group in 30 days (p=0.070) and 60 days (p=0.001) and; in intra-experimental group body mass in 60 days (p=0.034). The post-hoc test found significant values between the groups in nutritional knowledge (p<0.001), food consumption (p=0.002), body mass (p<0.001) and total body fat (p=0.016). The FNE intervention was effective in increasing nutritional knowledge, improving food consumption and reducing body mass and fat.