Supporting the designation of the week of September 14 through September 18, 2026, as “Malnutrition Awareness Week”.

Supporting the designation of the week of September 14 through September 18, 2026, as “Malnutrition Awareness Week”.

Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a person does not get enough protein, calories, or nutrients, and is a significant public health problem in the United States and around the world that can affect people across the lifespan and across geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds;

Whereas malnutrition can be determined by social or environmental influences, including poverty or economic instability, access to affordable health care, and low health literacy and there are inextricable and cyclical links between poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition;

Whereas the Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as when a person or household does not have regular, reliable access to the foods needed for good health;

Whereas communities of color, across all age groups, are disproportionately likely to experience both food insecurity and malnutrition;

Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native households are at significantly greater risk for food insecurity than all other households in the United States;

Whereas 1 in 18 Asian Americans and 1 in 5 Pacific Islanders experience food insecurity;

Whereas Black children are almost 3 times more likely to live in a food-insecure household than White children;

Whereas infants, children, older adults, people with chronic diseases, and other vulnerable populations are particularly at risk for malnutrition and inadequate nutrition;

Whereas the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that failure to provide key nutrients during early childhood may result in lifelong effects on brain function and development;

Whereas disease-associated malnutrition affects between 30 and 50 percent of patients admitted to hospitals and is associated with substantially higher healthcare costs, complications, and hospital readmissions, including over $51,300,000,000 each year for disease-associated malnutrition in older adults;

Whereas deaths from malnutrition have more than doubled since 2018, especially among adults 85 and older;

Whereas, according to the “National Blueprint for Achieving Quality Malnutrition Care for Older Adults, 2026 Update”, while access to malnutrition care has greatly expanded since 2020, as many as half of older adults living in the United States are malnourished or at risk for malnutrition;

Whereas, according to recent Aging Network surveys, home and community-based nutrition services can play an important role in improving health outcomes and reducing malnutrition risk among older adults; and

Whereas the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition established “Malnutrition Awareness Week” to raise awareness and promote prevention of malnutrition across the lifespan: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) supports the designation of “Malnutrition Awareness Week”;

(2) recognizes the contributions of registered dietitian nutritionists and other nutrition professionals, health care providers, school food service workers, those who provide home-delivered meals, social workers, advocates, caregivers, and other professionals and agencies working to prevent, identify, and address malnutrition;

(3) recognizes the importance of existing Federal nutrition programs, like the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) nutrition programs and Federal child nutrition programs, for their role in providing healthy food and nutrition interventions, preventing food insecurity and malnutrition, and supporting the health and well-being of people across the lifespan;

(4) recognizes the role of community-based organizations, including food banks, faith-based organizations, and local agencies and the need for partnerships among them and with health care providers in preventing and addressing malnutrition in underserved areas;

(5) recognizes the importance of access to evidenced-based nutrition care, especially for vulnerable populations, including medical nutrition therapy under the Medicare Program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.);

(6) recognizes the importance of continued Federal research into nutrition, dietary patterns, and the human gastrointestinal microbiome and how those factors influence the prevention or development of chronic disease and malnutrition throughout the lifespan;

(7) recognizes that malnutrition affects people of all ages and backgrounds, and that early identification and intervention can reduce health care costs, hospital re-admissions, and long-term complications;

(8) recognizes the importance of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services facilitating the implementation of the mandatory Malnutrition Care Score, an electronic clinical quality measure for adults aged 18 and older; and

(9) acknowledges that malnutrition affects people of all ages and backgrounds, and that preventing, identifying, and treating malnutrition can reduce avoidable health care costs and complications and is critical to achieving national goals related to chronic disease prevention, healthy aging, and access to good health for all.