The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics released their new guidelines for medical nutrition therapy in HIV care titled "Practice Paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Nutrition Intervention and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection,” with Amanda Willig, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Infectious Diseases, serving as the guideline’s lead author.
The guidelines are intended to help registered dietitians and dietetic technicians outline specific nutrition therapies that will benefit people living with HIV, as adequate nutrition often poses significant issues for this subset of patients. Side effects from the virus expose these patients to a higher risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, thus requiring nutritional guidance to be specifically tailored to their needs.