Statement from the Academy on NHANES Staff Firings

October 16, 2025 – The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has serious concerns about the stability of America's nutrition security infrastructure in light of several recent decisions made across the administration. The latest news about the reduction of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) division within the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) that directs the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) deepens this concern.

NHANES is the national program that sends mobile clinics across America to collect blood, urine and health data from thousands of Americans each year. This effort has been consistently collecting data for decades. The information gathered through NHANES is fundamental for monitoring, surveillance and discovery that help us understand Americans' overall health. It provides the data needed to measure diet quality, nutritional status, rates of obesity and trends in the results of other laboratory tests.

NHANES data is also used to monitor the prevalence of established and emerging toxins, from lead to polyfluoroalkyl substances. Thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles have been published and incredible findings discovered based on NHANES data. Continual collection of this data is essential to track progress toward public health goals, demonstrating where we are falling short and identifying the next link between exposures and health.

The Academy encourages the CDC to rescind the decision to remove the staff who work on the NHANES. The survey will not be able to continue without the staff who design, plan and coordinate it each year. The evidence that NHANES provides for scientists, researchers, policymakers and public health officials is critical to the foundation of America's nutrition security infrastructure. Without it, that infrastructure and the health of our nation are at even greater risk.