New research published in BMJ has shown that regularly eating French fries is associated with a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Other types of potatoes, such as boiled or mashed potatoes, did not carry the same risk.
The publication included the results of three U.S. cohort studies. In total, there were over 205,000 participants in the final analysis. At the start of the study, all participants were healthy and had not been diagnosed with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer. The three cohort studies were carried out between 1984 and 2021. Every four years during each study, participants filled out detailed food questionnaires, including how many potatoes they ate per week and how those potatoes were cooked. Previous research has linked potato consumption to possible negative health effects, and this study sought to investigate the link between potato consumption and negative health outcomes, particularly type 2 diabetes.
The results showed that every three weekly servings of potatoes corresponded to a 5% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, for French fries, every three weekly servings corresponded to a 20% higher risk. When only mashed, boiled, or baked potatoes were included in weekly potato consumption, there was no increased risk associated with more servings per week. Replacing weekly servings of potatoes with servings of whole grains lowered risk significantly, especially when French fries were replaced with whole grains.
This was an observational study, so no conclusions can be drawn regarding cause and effect. However, the results suggest that potatoes, and particularly French fries, may be linked to type 2 diabetes. The authors noted that these results align with current dietary guidelines that recommend whole grains as part of a healthy diet to prevent type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a significant risk factor for heart disease, and these results suggest that avoiding French fries and other fast foods may be part of optimizing heart health.
Sources: BMJ, Science Daily
