Eating three servings of chips (French fries) a week has been linked to a 20 percent increase in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
This level of risk was found to not exist from boiled, baked or mashed potatoes.
New research findings, based on a major 40-year study, also show that replacing any form of potato with whole grains was associated with a lower type 2 diabetes risk.
However, swapping potatoes for white rice carried an increased risk of diabetes.
The study, published by the British Medical Journal, explored the link between diabetes and potatoes cooked in particular ways.
Potatoes contain fibre, vitamin C, and magnesium, but they also have a high starch content and therefore a high glycemic index that links them to higher risks of developing type 2 diabetes.
The research findings were based on more than 205,000 participants who were monitored every four years between 1984 and 2021.
During almost 40 years of follow-up, 22,299 people were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
“After adjusting for lifestyle and dietary factors related to diabetes risk, the researchers found that for every three weekly servings of total potato, the rate of type 2 diabetes increased by five percent and for every three weekly servings of French fries, the rate increased by 20 percent,” the study report said.
“However, similar intake of baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes was not associated with a significantly increased risk.”
The study team said they could not rule out the possibility that other unmeasured factors may have influenced their results.
The findings align with current dietary recommendations promoting the inclusion of whole grains as part of a healthy diet for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
The full report is can be accessed via Science Daily.
