Impacto da educação alimentar e nutricional sobre o conhecimento nutricional, o consumo alimentar, o gasto energético e a composição corporal em pessoas vivendo com HIV

Abstract

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased 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 and preventing health complications. This study aimed to assess the impact of an intervention with food and nutrition education (NE) 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 (baseline, 30 days and 60 days) and condition (experimental vs. control), with significant differences in nutritional knowledge: experimental intra-group (p=0.015) and between groups (p=0.005), both at 60 days; in food consumption between the groups (p=0.014) and within the control group (p<0.001), both at 60 days; in body fat percentage within the experimental group at 30 days (p=0.070) and 60 days (p=0.001) and; in body mass within the experimental group at 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 intervention with NE was effective in increasing nutritional knowledge, improving food consumption and reducing body mass and body fat.