Potatoes, depending on how they are prepared, may increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
While this connection has been established, previous studies on the relationship between potatoes and Type 2 diabetes have often presented inconsistent evidence, notably lacking detail on cooking methods and the effects of substituting other foods. This new, more comprehensive report, conducted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, was published on August 6.
“Our study offers deeper, more comprehensive insights by looking at different types of potatoes, tracking diet over decades and exploring the effects of swapping potatoes for other foods,” wrote lead author Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Nutrition. “We’re shifting the conversation from, ‘Are potatoes good or bad?’ to a more nuanced — and useful — question: How are they prepared, and what might we eat instead?”
To seek answers, researchers tracked the diets of 205,107 men and women for more than 30 years. The participants regularly responded to dietary questionnaires, detailing the frequency with which they ate certain foods, including french fries, baked, boiled or mashed potatoes and whole grains.
They also reported on new health diagnoses, including Type 2 diabetes and various other health, lifestyle and demographic factors. Over the course of the research period, 22,299 participants reported that they developed Type 2 diabetes.
The findings revealed that three servings weekly of french fries increased the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 20%, while baked, boiled and mashed potatoes were not significantly associated with Type 2 diabetes risk.
Researchers also learned that eating whole grains such as whole grain pasta, bread or farro in place of baked, boiled or mashed potatoes could reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 4%.
Replacing french fries with whole grains could reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 19%, the study found. Even swapping refined grains for french fries was estimated to lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
“The public health message here is simple and powerful: Small changes in our daily diet can have an important impact on risk of type 2 diabetes,” corresponding author Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University, wrote. “Limiting potatoes — especially limiting French fries — and choosing healthy, whole grain sources of carbohydrate could help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes across the population.”
Willett added that “For policymakers, our findings highlight the need to move beyond broad food categories and pay closer attention to how foods are prepared and what they’re replacing. Not all carbs — or even all potatoes — are created equal, and that distinction is crucial when it comes to shaping effective dietary guidelines.”
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