Egg Intake as Part of a DASH Eating Pattern is Linked with Lower Body Fat in Later Adolescence
Authors: Mott Melanie M. , Singer Martha R. , Bradlee M. Loring , Daniels Stephen R. , Moore Lynn L. 
Published: November 2023

Short‐term clinical trials in adolescents and adults suggest that egg intake may play a role in maintaining a healthy body weight through its effects on satiety. Long‐term effects have been infrequently studied and no such studies exist for children or adolescents during these critical periods of body fat acquisition. The objective of this study was to estimate the effects of egg intake on adolescent body fat (as measured by percent of total body fat and percent of total fat from truncal fat). Data from 2055 girls followed‐up over 10 years (until 18–20 years of age) in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's National Growth and Health Study were used for this analysis. Diet was assessed by means of three day food records collected annually. Girls were classified according to their average weekly egg intake during early to mid‐adolescence (ages 9–17). Body fat outcomes were collected at the end of follow‐up (ages 18–20 years). Percent body fat was assessed with a bioelectrical impedance analyzer, while skinfold measurements at the subscapular and suprailiac sites were used to determine truncal fat using the Cameron method. Analysis of covariance models were used to control for potential confounding; race, height, and percent of energy from carbohydrates were retained in the final models. For total percent body fat, girls with high (≥ 3.5 eggs per week), moderate (0.5 to < 3.5 eggs per week), and low (< 0.5 eggs per week) intakes had a percent body fat of 30.8%, 31.3% and 32.1% (p‐trend: 0.0184). For truncal fat, girls with high, moderate and low intakes had a percent fat of 32.1%, 33.6% and 34.5% (p‐trend: 0.1338). To determine whether the effect of egg consumption was modified by an overall healthy diet, egg intake was cross‐classified with a standardized Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating pattern score (categorized as low vs high). The table below shows that girls with the highest egg intakes and a high DASH score had the lowest % total body fat and % truncal fat. Overall, this table suggests that the observed beneficial effect of egg consumption on body fat is positively modified by a healthy diet pattern. Secondary analyses examining the individual DASH components (e.g. fiber, dairy, and fruits and vegetables) in combination with higher egg intakes resulted in similar findings. These results suggest that usual egg intake, particularly when consumed as part of a healthy diet, is associated with lower levels of body fat during later adolescence.

Support or Funding Information

NIDDK and a dissertation fellowship from the American Egg Board/Egg Nutrition Center

Effects of egg intake and a DASH score on % body fat and truncal fat at 18–20 years of age

% Body fat
% Truncal fat

n
Mean ± SE
p‐value
Mean ± SE
p‐value

Egg/DASH pattern

Low/Low
112
32.6 ± 0.62
‐
36.6 ± 1.83
‐

Moderate/Low
440
31.7 ± 0.31
0.1810
34.0 ± 0.92
0.2045

High/Low
80
31.9 ± 0.74
0.4829
33.1 ± 2.18
0.2208

Low/High
148
31.6 ± 0.54
0.2234
32.9 ± 1.59
0.1245

Moderate/High
1007
31.1 ± 0.21
0.0204
33.3 ± 0.61
0.0912

High/High
268
30.4 ± 0.41
0.0030
31.8 ± 1.20
0.0301