Nutritional status of HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy and the impact of nutritional supplementation in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa

The study was a descriptive prospective trial aimed to describe the nutritional status and impact of current nutrition intervention strategies on weight changes in adult HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy. Results showed that patients from Kuruman had a greater incidence of underweight compared to other towns, with a median BMI of 17.9kg/sqmeter. Of the 87 patients assessed during the final week, 49.4% experienced weight gain and 40.2% lost weight. 18(20.7%) patients gained more than 5% of their baseline weight. 22 patients who presented with BMI < 18.5kg/sqmeter at baseline had a median weight gain of 1.13kg during the intervention period, while the group with BMI > 18.5kg/sq meter presented with no change in median weight. Nutrition supplementation provided according to provincial policy and combined with ARVs, nutritionally benefitted about half of the patients in the ARV programme in the Northern Cape