Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health epidemic in the United States, and the role of nutritional evaluation and intervention has never been more urgent. The articles highlighted in this issue of the Journal of Renal Nutrition shine a klieg light on the critical problem of protein-energy wasting (PEW), which is commonly observed in patients with advanced CKD and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Skeletal muscle is central to the body's framework and movement, but it also plays an essential metabolic role in health and disease.