Objectives:

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has become a treatable chronic disease with the common usage of antiretroviral treatment (ART). Weight gain and obesity is observed more frequently with ART usage. Aim of this study was to reveal the association of obesity and resting metabolic rate in HIV infected individuals who are under treatment.

Materials and Methods:

In this cross-sectional study, HIV infected individuals’ whom viral loads were supressed with treatment and attending to outpatients clinic in a one month period anthropometric measurements were performed, resting metabolic rates were measured and compared with obese individuals who are not infected with HIV.

Results:

In this study 25 HIV infected individuals and 38 obese individuals who are not infected with HIV were included, all of them were male. Mean age was 41.4 and 42.9 years, respectively. The metabolic rate in obese individuals infected with HIV was found to be lower than the obese individuals not infected with HIV.

Conclusion:

In our study significant difference was detected in metabolic rates among HIV infected obese individuals and obese individuals not infected with HIV. Decrease in metabolic rate of HIV infected obese individuals whom viral replication is supressed with ART, can suggest the probable effect of ART.

Keywords: HIV, obesity, metabolic rate