(P13-048-24) Consuming One Egg Daily Reduced the Risk of Nutrient Inadequacy Among U.S. Adolescents With and Without Food Insecurity

Objectives: Nutrient inadequacy during adolescence can prevent optimal health, and food insecurity may increase this risk. Eggs serve as a low-cost, nutrient rich food source that may improve nutrient intake. Thus, we aimed to model the impact of the addition of an egg to daily intake on the percent of adolescents meeting the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), and Total Nutrient Index (TNI) and Food Nutrient Index (FNI) scores among U.S. adolescents by food security status and degree of egg-rich diets.

Methods: Adolescents (14-17y) in the 2007-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n=3,633) who completed up to 2 24-hour dietary recalls and classed as food secure or insecure using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module were included. Degree of egg-rich diets was classed as diets not including eggs, including eggs as ingredients in dishes, and including primarily egg dishes. Nutrient amounts from one medium egg were added to usual nutrient intakes to estimate the percent of adolescents meeting the DRIs via the National Cancer Institute (NCI) method. The TNI and FNI scores were derived using the NCI simple algorithm method; mean intakes for 8 under-consumed micronutrients were expressed as a percentage of the DRIs for adequacy and averaged for the total TNI/FNI score.

Results: The addition of an egg increased the percent of adolescents with adequate choline intake from 3-11% to 22-63% for all food security/egg-rich diet groups, decreased the percent at risk of inadequate vitamin A intake by 10% for those with food security and consuming primarily egg dishes, and by 13% for those with food insecurity and not consuming egg dishes. Lower risks of inadequate folate (-11%), iron (-8%), and riboflavin (-13%) intake were noted among those with food insecurity and not consuming eggs. For all subgroups, TNI and FNI choline scores were significantly higher with the addition of an egg (p < 0.0005), as were TNI and FNI vitamin D scores (both 8%) among those with food insecurity and consuming primarily egg dishes, and the FNI vitamin D score (8%) of those with food security and consuming egg- ingredient dishes.

Conclusions: The addition of an egg to adolescent’s diets improved micronutrient intake among various subgroups by food security status and egg-rich diet, suggesting an effective strategy to improve nutrient adequacy.

Funding Sources: Supported by the Egg Nutrition Center