Total energy expenditure in human immunodeficiency virus-infected men and healthy controls

Total daily energy expenditure (TEE) has been reported to be slightly decreased in weight-stable acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. This conclusion is based on a comparison of TEE measurements to the data reported by others. We measured TEE in nine weight-stable human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected homosexual men (Centers for Disease Control [CDC]-II to -IV) without active opportunistic disease and nine age-, sex-, and height-matched healthy controls using the doubly labeled water technique for 2 weeks, and resting energy expenditure (REE) using the ventilated-hood technique. TEE in HIV-Infected patients was not significantly different from that in healthy controls (221 +/- 12.5 and 210 +/- 9 kJ.kg lean body mass [LBM]-1.d-1, respectively, NS). REE was approximately 10% higher in HIV patients than in healthy controls (134 +/- 4 and 125 +/- 4 kJ.kg LBM-1.d-1, respectively, P = .02). The energy spent in relation to physical activity was not different between HIV-Infected patients and the controls (66 +/- 10 and 64 +/- 5 kJ.kg LBM-1.d-1, respectively, NS). In conclusion, REE is increased by about 10% in weight-stable HIV-infected men without active opportunistic disease. TEE and the energy spent during physical activity are not different in this group of patients versus healthy controls. This is in contrast to the previously reported decrease of TEE in weight-losing AIDS patients. Therefore, the energy requirements of stable HIV-infected patients are not decreased compared with those of healthy subjects.