Unlocking Better Nutrition: How Eggs Elevate Adolescent Nutrition

Key Takeaways: 

• According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adolescents have low intakes of nutrient-dense foods and beverages, leading to low intakes of phosphorus, magnesium, and choline, and for girls, inadequate protein.  
• New data show that eggs are one way to increase nutrient quality in the diet of adolescents. 
• Regardless of food security status, consuming eggs was related to reduced risk of not getting enough essential nutrients including choline, vitamin A, potassium, folate, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B2, zinc, vitamin E, vitamin C, and protein. 

Food insecurity impacts 17.9% of households with children in the United States [1]. “Sometimes older children in such households suffer the more severe effects of food insecurity, while caregivers and other family members seek to protect younger children from those effects [1].” Poor dietary intake in food insecure households can put some teens at particular nutritional risk during a period of rapid growth [2, 3]. New data show that eggs are one way to increase nutrient quality in the diet of adolescents. 

The average American teen doesn’t get enough of  several nutrients, including calcium, potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D, protein (girls), iron (girls), folate (girls), vitamins B₆ and B₁₂ (girls), phosphorus, magnesium, and choline (both boys and girls) [4]. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adolescents have low intakes of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within the grains, dairy, fruits, and vegetables food groups leading to low intakes of phosphorus, magnesium, and choline. Adolescent females also consume less meat, poultry, and eggs compared to adolescent males, and in combination with low consumption of seafood and other protein foods, including beans, peas, and lentils, the result is underconsumption of protein [3]. 

A recent analysis of dietary data from U.S. adolescents aged 14-17 years (2007-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)) reported current intake of vitamins and minerals, and the impact of adding one egg per day to the diet. In this study, the usual amount of eggs in the diet was categorized into three levels: 1) non-egg consumers; 2) eggs as ingredients in dishes (e.g., egg burritos, egg sandwiches, pastries); or 3) primarily egg dishes (e.g., eggs and omelets).  The teens in this analysis were categorized as food secure or food insecure based on a survey conducted during the NHANES in-home interview [5]. 

In the 14% of U.S. boys and girls aged 14-17 years experiencing food insecurity, 51% did not eat eggs (47% in the food secure group), 32% consumed eggs as ingredients in dishes (39% in the food secure group), and 17% consumed eggs primarily in egg dishes (14% in the food secure group). Regardless of food security status, eating eggs was related to a reduced risk of not getting enough essential nutrients including choline, vitamin A, potassium, folate, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B₂, zinc, vitamin E, vitamin C, and protein. Only 3-23% of adolescents met the Adequate Intake (AI) for choline (varied based on the level of egg intake), but the percentage increased to 33% for food secure adolescents consuming primarily egg dishes. Modeling the addition of an egg to the diet demonstrated improvements for adolescents meeting recommendations for choline, vitamin A, folate, iron, and vitamin B₂ [5].  

Another recent NHANES analysis (2011-2014) found that only 4.4% of 9-18 year olds meet the AI for choline, and modeling the addition of an egg/day resulted in 23% reaching recommended levels [6]. This analysis also demonstrated that including more eggs in the diet of teens can improve intake of lutein + zeaxanthin [6], carotenoids known to be important for eye, and potentially brain health [7]. 

The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee reported that intakes of dairy, dark green vegetables, legumes, poultry, and eggs should be encouraged among pre-teens and adolescents, particularly girls [4]. The new NHANES analysis supports that egg consumption could be encouraged among all adolescents to improve nutrient intake, and “…considering the prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity more tailored strategies may be needed [5].” 

In 2023, America’s egg farmers donated over 50 million eggs to their local food banks and communities, demonstrating their commitment to hunger relief. See our Quick Recipes Using Pantry Staples which provide easy recipes for teens and the entire family to enjoy.