About NHANES

NHANES serves as a resource for critical health information about the United States, and provides important health and nutrition statistics on adults and children living here.

Public health officials, legislators, physicians, and others use NHANES information to develop health policies and programs and increase our understanding of the nation’s health.

The first NHANES program began in 1960. NHANES examines 5,000 people across the United States each year in our Mobile Exam Centers. Each participant makes an important contribution to the study, representing approximately 60,000 others in the country like them.

Learn more about NHANES history.

Here are just a few of the important questions NHANES data has helped answer.

• What percent of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes?
• Are babies and children growing at a healthy rate?
• Have people in the U.S. been exposed to harmful chemicals through food or other exposures?
• What is the impact of differences in access to oral health care?