This resolution supports designating a week for Malnutrition Awareness and recognizes the widespread impact of malnutrition on vulnerable populations while advocating for stronger nutrition programs and early intervention.
Christopher Murphy
Senator
CT
This resolution supports the designation of a week in September 2025 as "Malnutrition Awareness Week" to highlight the widespread and costly problem of malnutrition in the U.S. It recognizes that this issue disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including communities of color, children, and older adults. The bill encourages increased support for federal nutrition programs and better integration of nutrition therapy to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.
New Resolution Pushes for Malnutrition Awareness Week in 2025, Backing Federal Food Programs
If you’ve ever tried to figure out why your grocery bill is so high or why your neighbor’s elderly parent keeps getting readmitted to the hospital, this resolution might hit close to home. This measure is basically Congress officially designating the week of September 8 through September 12, 2025, as “Malnutrition Awareness Week.” It’s a non-binding resolution, meaning it doesn’t create new law, but it’s a big, loud signal that lawmakers recognize malnutrition is a massive, costly problem in the U.S. It explicitly supports existing federal nutrition programs—like those under the Older Americans Act and Federal child nutrition programs—and calls for increased funding, while also encouraging better quality measures in Medicare.
The Hidden Cost of Not Eating Right
When we talk about malnutrition, it’s not just about starvation; it’s about not getting the right nutrients, and the bill text makes it clear this is hitting vulnerable groups hard. For people juggling work and family, the financial impact alone should make you pay attention. The resolution highlights that treating hospitalized patients who are malnourished can cost the healthcare system three times more than treating those who are properly nourished. We’re talking about an estimated annual cost of over $51 billion just for malnutrition in older adults. Think of it this way: if your employer or insurance provider is constantly dealing with these inflated costs, that eventually trickles down to higher premiums and stagnant wages. This resolution is essentially saying, “Let’s invest in prevention now to save a ton of money later.”
Who This Acknowledgment Helps
This resolution gives a serious nod to the programs that keep food on the table for those who need it most. It points out that older adults who get home-delivered meals for two to five years are 72% less likely to be at risk for malnutrition compared to those who only get short-term help. For the working parent relying on school lunch programs or the adult child managing an aging parent’s care, this is a strong endorsement of the systems already in place. By supporting increased funding for these programs, the resolution aims to stabilize and strengthen the support network many families depend on.
Better Care Through Better Metrics
One interesting detail is the encouragement for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to adopt the new Malnutrition Care Score, an electronic quality measure for adults over 18. This is a technical step, but it has a real-world impact. Currently, if a patient is malnourished, it might not be systematically flagged or treated as aggressively as other conditions. By pushing CMS to adopt this score, the resolution aims to make sure healthcare providers are required to track and address malnutrition aggressively, especially for seniors on Medicare. This means better outcomes and fewer hospital readmissions—which is good for the patient, and good for everyone paying into the system.