Consuming primarily egg dishes and eggs as ingredients among U.S. adolescents is associated with greater usual nutrient intakes compared with not consuming eggs

Morales-Juárez, A., Cowan-Pyle, A.E., Bailey, R.L. and Eicher-Miller, H.A. (2026). Consuming primarily egg dishes and eggs as ingredients among U.S. adolescents is associated with greater usual nutrient intakes compared with not consuming eggs. The Journal of Nutrition, p.101483. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2026.101483.

Background: Adolescents need nutrient-dense foods for growth, and eggs are a nutritious option to help meet nutrient needs

Objective: To assess the relationship between egg consumption categories and nutrient intake, nutrient adequacy and nutrient exposure scores among U.S. adolescents

Methods: Adolescents in the 2007-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (14-17y; n=3,691) with ≥1 24-hour dietary recall and supplement data were included. Egg consumption was categorized as non-egg consumer, consumer of eggs as ingredients, or consumer of a primarily egg dish. Usual nutrient intakes, nutrient adequacy, and nutrient exposure scores for intakes from all sources (i.e., Total Nutrient Index (TNI); scored 0-100; foods + supplements) and foods alone (i.e., Food Nutrient Index (FNI); 0-100) were estimated using the National Cancer Institute method. Pairwise t-tests compared the nutrient markers across the three egg consumption groups.

Results: U.S. adolescents failed to meet various nutrient adequacy markers, highlighting a high risk of inadequacy for calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and vitamin E, and a low percentage above the Adequate Intake for choline. Primarily egg dish consumers exhibited higher mean usual intakes for lutein+zeaxanthin, choline, vitamin A, selenium, vitamin D, riboflavin, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and protein than non-egg consumers; and for lutein+zeaxanthin, choline, selenium, and DHA than those consuming eggs as ingredients (P<0.001). Consuming eggs as ingredients showed higher iron and vitamin E intakes compared with not consuming eggs. Consumers of eggs, either primarily dishes or as ingredients had higher TNI scores (P<0.001) for total (76 and 71 vs. 65), magnesium (69 and 66 vs. 60) and potassium (83 and 80 vs. 73) and FNI scores for potassium (82 and 80 vs. 73) than non-egg consumers, respectively.

Conclusions: U.S. adolescents consuming eggs, as primarily dishes or ingredients, had better compliance in meeting nutrient markers compared with non-egg consumers, highlighting associations between egg consumption and nutrient intake.