This year marks the 10th anniversary of ASPEN ’ s Malnutrition Awareness Week™ ( MAW ), and Dietitian Connection is proud to be an official partner .

Peggi Guenter , PhD , RN , FASPEN ; Pat Anthony , MS , RD , FASPEN American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

This year , Malnutrition Awareness Week™ ( MAW ) reached more than 230 million people around the world . It is only as a global community that we can address malnutrition and progress toward prevention and intervention . Here ’ s the story of how it all started .

What is the purpose of MAW ?

In 2009 , the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition ( ASPEN ), an international professional healthcare organisation whose members provide clinical nutrition therapies , recognised the need for greater awareness of malnutrition . The challenge ASPEN faced was how to raise malnutrition awareness in healthcare professionals and educate them on malnutrition intervention and treatment . Critical , too , was educating the public to talk to their healthcare providers about their own nutrition status .

In 2012 , ASPEN ’ s MAW was born and included two continuing education webinars and a podcast for clinicians . The campaign has seen incredible growth since its beginnings , including joining Defeat Malnutrition Today in 2014 , a coalition to defeat malnutrition in older adults through advocacy and federal policy work . Today , ASPEN invites other healthcare and consumer organisations to join in their efforts . This mode of outreach formed the MAW Ambassador program that now includes 158 clinical , advocacy and community organisations from around the world .

© Dietitian Connection 22 Infuse | October 2022