Asian Diet: Nutrition key to surviving HIV/AIDS, WHO says

Bangkok - Well-balanced meals are a key ingredient to survival forthe millions of HIV/AIDS patients in South and South-East Asia, WorldHealth Organization (WHO) experts said Tuesday.

"Nutrition and HIVare closely related," said Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO's regionaldirector for South-East Asia."HIV affects nutritional status, and poor nutrition in turn leads tofaster progression of HIV to AIDS," Samlee told a seminar of healthworkers and experts who gathered in Bangkok this week to findsolutions to fighting the two epidemics of malnutrition andHIV/AIDS. "Scaling-up care and antiretroviral therapy cannot beaddressed without appropriate support for nutrition.

"There are an estimated 4 million people suffering from HIV/AIDS inBangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, SouthKorea and Sri Lanka, the area defined by the UN agency as South-EastAsia.The good news is that most Asian diets are well-suited to providingthe nutrition HIV/AIDS patients require."I think Thai food is well-balanced and has all the nutrientssomebody needs, but it depends on keeping the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats," said Ranga Saadeh, a scientist working for WHO's nutrition department in Geneva.Evidence has established that people living with HIV have higher energy needs than those who are HIV-negative.

Asymptomatic HIV-positive adults or children need 10 per cent more energy than those who are not HIV-positive, and those at advanced stages need 20 to 30 per cent more energy to maintain body weight,Saadeh said.HIV-positive children who are losing weight need 50 to 100 per centmore energy, she said. Providing a balanced, nutritious diet in countries where malnutritionis endemic poses an added challenge to their health services.

"This HIV/AIDs epidemic is being superimposed on the already existing malnutrition problems," Saddeh said, "so if we want to make a difference, we should really deal with both challenges at the sametime.

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