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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Surveys Research Group » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #425667
Research Project: Improved National Dietary Assessment and the Relationship of Dietary Intake to the Environmental Impact of Foods and Beverages

Location: Food Surveys Research Group

Title: Consumption of eggs/omelets and egg sandwiches by U.S. children: What We Eat In America, NHANES 2017 – March 2020

Author
item Sebastian, Rhonda
item Crawford, Sara
item Moshfegh, Alanna

Submitted to: Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2025
Publication Date: 5/6/2025
Citation: Sebastian, R.S., Crawford, S.B., Moshfegh, A.J. 2025. Consumption of eggs/omelets and egg sandwiches by U.S. children: What We Eat In America, NHANES 2017 – March 2020. Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group. 65:1-10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40472121/.

Interpretive Summary: Eggs are a popular and nutritious food. However, intake of eggs/omelets and egg sandwiches, which account for the majority of eggs consumed, has not been reported. Using dietary data from What We Eat in America, NHANES 2017 - March 2020, we examined consumption of these egg-based foods. We identified who consumes them, where they are obtained, and their contributions to energy and nutrients. We found that 12% of children 2-19 years consume eggs/omelets and 5% consume an egg sandwich on any given day. The percentage consuming either egg group does not vary by sex, but intake of eggs/omelets is higher among children 2-5 years compared to those 6-11 or 12-19 years. Hispanic children are twice as likely to consume eggs/omelets than are non-Hispanic Black or non-Hispanic White children. Eighty percent of eggs/omelets (or their ingredients) that are consumed by children are obtained from the grocery store, and about the same percentage of egg sandwiches are obtained from the grocery store (54%) and fast food restaurants (27%) collectively. On a 1,000 kilocalorie basis, total daily intakes of fat, monounsaturated fat, and choline are higher among children who consume eggs/omelets or an egg sandwich on the intake day relative to those who did not, whereas carbohydrate was lower. Among consumers, eggs/omelets and egg sandwiches account for 48-49% of daily intake of choline and 24-31% of vitamins A and D. This information about eggs in these commonly consumed forms can inform policymakers, food manufacturers, dietitians, and nutritionists, about their importance in the diets of U.S. children, particularly among those in which a high percentage are consumers, e.g., young children and those of Hispanic origin.

Technical Abstract: Consumption of nutritious foods is key to growth and development in childhood. Eggs are a rich source of high-quality protein, several vitamins, selenium, and other nutritionally beneficial food components (1,2). Research has shown that consumption of eggs promotes higher intake of several nutrients (3) and may reduce risk of inadequate intake of those that are typically low in the diets of children (4). Eggs are an ingredient in a wide range of foods; however, among U.S. children, 71% of eggs are consumed as an individual item (e.g., scrambled eggs) or in an omelet (hereafter termed “eggs/omelets”), or in an egg sandwich (see definition of “eggs” on page 8). In this report, intake of eggs/omelets and egg sandwiches by children 2 - 19 years is presented. This analysis is based on one day of dietary intake data from What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017 – March 2020. A complementary report (Dietary Data Brief No. 66) describes egg consumption by U.S. adults 20 years of age and older.