The entire team that oversees NHANES mobile examination operations was RIFed. NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) is our national program that sends mobile clinics across America to collect blood, urine, and health data from thousands of Americans each year. Unlike some other CDC cuts that have been reversed, this one hasn't - at least not yet. And there's no alternative plan in place.Without this team, the NHANES survey is unlikely to be able to continue. They don't just do planning for the next cycle (which their name might suggest) - they primarily conduct the day-to-day operations that keep the mobile units running.Why does this matter? NHANES is our only nationally representative source for:➡️Dietary intake data➡️Biomarkers of environmental toxins (pesticides, heavy metals, PFAS in blood/urine)➡️Population-level cardiovascular risk factors measured through actual blood work➡️Nutritional biomarkers (not self-reported)The data from NHANES is key for monitoring, surveillance, and discovery. It's how we know about diet quality & nutritional status, rates of obesity, and trends in blood glucose and cholesterol control. It's also how we monitor the prevalence of established and emerging toxins - everything from lead to PFAS. Continual collection of data is essential for tracking progress on public health goals, where we are falling short, and identifying the next link between exposures and health. Experts have readily called for an INVESTMENT in NHANES - so that we can sample broader populations, measure novel biomarkers & capture more environmental exposures. These cuts threaten the continuity of this key engine of public health, and we should all be concerned, regardless of party or politics.

The American Society for Nutrition’s (ASN) Committee on Advocacy and Science Policy (CASP) organized a workshop, “Building a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the Future,” ...