Introduction: The determination of the amount of body fat can be carried out by methods with different levels of sensitivity, specificity, clinical practicality and cost. The absorptiometry by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is considered the gold standard method for quantification of fat, but has high costs and requires a longer running time compared to anthropometry. Objective: To evaluate the correlation between methods to estimate central fat in adult living with HIV/AIDS. Methods: Cross-sectional study, for convenience, with individuals diagnosed with HIV who had not started antiretroviral treatment. We collected anthropometric information of weight, height, waist circumference, abdominal, skinfold supra-iliac, and the amount of central fat, according to information from DXA. Results: To estimate the central fat using the anthropometric information, we developed mathematical equations three from the DXA. The coefficients of these models were equal to 0.55. Conclusion: Anthropometric measurements were used to estimate the amount of central fat are easy measurement and clinical practicality. We suggest that the central fat monitoring is included in the clinical treatment protocol, thus contributing to the diagnosis of lipodystrophy and prevention of other metabolic changes.