An international team led by a Harvard University public health expert has found a shocking link between consuming chips regularly and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Seyed Mohammad Mousavi examined the link between potato consumption and the disease, analysing food questionnaires from 205,000 US health professionals collected every four years between 1984 and 2021, The Guardian reported.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that consuming chips three times a week was associated with a 20% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Eating them five times a week increased the risk by 27%. In contrast, having baked, boiled or mashed potatoes with the same frequency raised the risk by only 5%.
Researchers stressed that potatoes themselves do not pose a direct health threat, but frying them to make chips — often with added fat, salt and large portion sizes — is linked to a greater likelihood of a diabetes diagnosis.
“The high starch content of potatoes, leading to a high glycaemic index and load, combined with possible loss of nutrients and possible health risks resulting from various cooking methods, could contribute to adverse health outcomes,” the study noted.
The findings also showed that replacing potatoes with whole grains lowered the risk of diabetes by 8%, while substituting chips with grains reduced it by 19%. However, swapping potatoes for white rice increased the risk.
