Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 to 65 years inclusive;
• HIV positive; CD4 cell counts >100 cells/mm3; viral load <10 000 copies/mL stable for 8 weeks;
• On stable ART regimen for at least 8 weeks prior to randomization;

• Have evidence of abdominal fat accumulation defined by the following anthropometric cut off values:

  • For males: waist circumference > 95 cm and waist to hip ratio > 0.94;
  • For females: waist circumference > 94 cm and waist to hip ratio > 0.88;
• Females of childbearing potential, not pregnant or lactating,
• For female subjects, normal mammography within 6 months of study;
• Signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Body Mass Index < 20 kg/m2;
• Opportunistic infection; HIV-related disease within 3 months of study;
• History of malignancy; active neoplasm;
• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) >5 ng/mL at screening;
• Hypopituitarism; history of pituitary tumor/surgery; head irradiation; head trauma that has affected the somatotropic axis;
• Untreated hypothyroidism;
• Use of oral hypoglycemic or insulin sensitizing agent within 6 months of study (includes type 1 and drug-treated type 2 diabetes);
• ALT or AST >3 x ULN; serum creatinine >133 umol/L (1.5 mg/dL); hemoglobin more than 20 g/L below LLN; fasting blood glucose ≥ 8.33 mmol/L (150 mg/dL); fasting triglycerides > 11.3 mmol/L (0.99 g/dL);
• Untreated hypertension;
• Change in anti-hyperlipemic regimen within 3 months prior to study;
• Change in testosterone regimen and/or supraphysiological dose of testosterone;
• Estrogen therapy;
• Anoretics/anorexigenics or anti-obesity agents within 3 months of study;
• Growth hormone (GH), GH secretagogues, growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) products, IGF-1, or IGFBP-3 within 6 months of study;
• Drug or alcohol dependence or use of methadone within 6 months of study entry;
• Participation in a clinical trial with any investigational drug/device within 30 days of screening.