Preventative nutrition in pediatric HIV and AIDS begins prior to the onset of symptoms and should become a regular part of a child's care plan. Nutrition education involves working with a child in the context of the child's disease classification, and is inclusive of psychosocial and family needs. Together these help in assessing current energy reserves both as fat and protein. After careful measurement and determining the age and sex specific percentiles for tricep skinfold and mid-arm muscle circumference, one can compare the child's fat and muscle stores to those of healthy children and to the child's previous values. Weight loss and poor weight gain are commonplace among HIV-infected children.
Some children loss lean body mass before they experience a drop in total body weight.
It is believed that altered metabolism secondary to HIV may cause muscle wasting while fat stores are maintained. Also weight may be an inappropriate measure of nutritional status when infected children have water retention secondary to cardiac disorders or heoatosplenomegaly. In these instances the indirect measure of lean tissue using tricep skinfold and mid-arm circumference is helpful. The use of skin fold calipers has several advantages. The technique is non-invasive and poses no health risks to the patient or practitioner.