French Fries and Diabetes Risk
Eating French fries just three times a week was linked to a 20 percent higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published August 6 in The BMJ. In contrast, eating the same amount of potatoes prepared in other ways (boiled, baked, or mashed) did not show a meaningful increase in risk.
The research also found that replacing any kind of potatoes with whole grains was tied to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, while swapping them for white rice was linked to a higher risk.
Potatoes provide beneficial nutrients such as fiber, vitamin C, and magnesium, but they are also high in starch, which gives them a high glycemic index. This has been associated with a greater likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.
Until now, studies had not examined how cooking methods or the specific foods that potatoes replace in the diet might influence their overall health effects.
Investigating Potato Preparation and Diabetes
To explore this, researchers analyzed how different preparations of potatoes (boiled, baked, or mashed compared with French fries) related to the risk of type 2 diabetes. They also studied the effects of replacing potatoes with other carbohydrate-rich foods, including whole grains and rice.
The analysis drew on data from more than 205,000 U.S. health professionals who took part in three large studies between 1984 and 2021. All participants were free of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer at the start and completed detailed dietary questionnaires every four years.
Elevated Risk from Fries, Not Other Potatoes
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 potatoes, the rate of type 2 diabetes increased by 5% and for every three weekly servings of French fries, the rate increased by 20%. However, similar intake of baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes was not associated with a significantly increased risk.
Replacing three weekly servings of total potatoes with whole grains lowered the type 2 diabetes rate by 8%. Substituting baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with whole grains lowered the rate by 4%, and replacing French fries lowered the rate by 19%.
White Rice Swap Raises Risk
In contrast, replacing total potatoes or baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with white rice was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
This is an observational study, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, and the researchers can’t rule out the possibility that other unmeasured factors may have influenced their results. Most participants were also health professionals of European ancestry, so findings may not apply to other populations.
Nevertheless, they conclude: “Our findings underscore that the association between potato intake and type 2 diabetes risk depends on the specific foods used as replacement. The findings also align with current dietary recommendations that promote the inclusion of whole grains as part of a healthy diet for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.”
Are Potatoes Back on the Plate?
So, are potatoes back on the plate? Well, it depends, say researchers in a linked editorial, who note that it is important to consider preparation method and replacement food when guiding the public or informing policy.
They point out that with their relatively low environmental impact and their health impact, baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes can be part of a healthy and sustainable diet, though whole grains should remain a priority, but say future studies from more diverse populations that account for both preparation methods and substitution analysis are needed.
Reference:
“Total and specific potato intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three US cohort studies and a substitution meta-analysis of prospective cohorts” by Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, Xiao Gu, Fumiaki Imamura, Hala B AlEssa, Orrin Devinsky, Qi Sun, Frank B Hu, JoAnn E Manson, Eric B Rimm, Nita G Forouhi and Walter C Willett, 6 August 2025, BMJ.
DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-082121
French fries maybe, but what about Freedom fries?
I call BS.
The people who successfully reduced their French fry consumption were probably the same ones who reduced their sugar consumption. Or they’re counting sugar-coated fries, like McDonald’s.
Fat and carmelization are bad for you, but potato is potato. Hell, the fat probably even helps you regulate blood sugar.
I don't order fries very often, but if they're included in the meal, I'll eat them to be polite, assuming there's catsup. Or not. Regardless, this looks like the latest meme in the ongoing parade of nanny-state BS.
High temperature conversion of the starch into sucrose derivatives/equivalents.
Pancreas gets confused.
I par-boil [all] my taters in pH-water of about 7.8 prior to frying / air-frying.
Yep...even the frozen ones.
Crispy & crunchy.
Repeat thread....see yesterday...
This is the feminine world we live in now, the women’s section of the newspaper is now the front news section, diet, health, celebrities, dating tips, plastic surgery news, social media.
More ‘supposedly smart people’ demonstrating stupid.
Obviously inflammation is the key (oils).
Want MAHA?
Bring back beef tallow (at least for restaurants; vegans be damned).
These types of pieces are with reading only for what they fail to discuss. Eating French fries just three times a week - Fried in what kind of fat? Seed oil? Tallow? How old is the oil, i.e. how much heat exposure breaking the oil down into cytotoxic and inflammatory causing aldehydes?
Who paid for this piece? Trade Group that will profit from decreased sales of fries? a USAID NGO?
very badly designed study because it assumes all frying oils are equal, with no distinction made between healthy oils like olive or avocado or healthy animal fat oils like tallow vs garbage oils like cottonseed oil and soybean oil ... i mean, whoever thought that cottonseed oil is something that would be fit for human consumption?
at any rate, they haven’t proved whether the unhealthiness is from the cooking method or the cooking ingredients ...
Chat GPT:
1. Chris Voigt – The Potato Spokesman
Role: Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission
Challenge: Ate nothing but potatoes for 60 days in 2010
Purpose: To promote the nutritional value of potatoes and counter low-carb diet stigma
Diet Details:
~20 potatoes per day
No toppings, oils, or sides
Consulted with a doctor beforehand
Outcome: Lost weight, improved cholesterol, and proved potatoes are rich in fiber, potassium, and vitamin C
2. Andrew Taylor – The “Spud Fit” Guy
Location: Australia
Challenge: Ate only potatoes for an entire year in 2016
Motivation: To overcome food addiction and reset his relationship with eating
Diet Details:
Included white and sweet potatoes
Used herbs and soy milk for flavor
Took B12 supplements
Outcome:
Lost over 117 pounds
Improved cholesterol, blood pressure, and mental health
Developed the “Spud Fit Challenge” to help others with food dependency
I don’t have to look, it will be the one I like best.
Any excess of fatty and sugary salty fast foods and lack of physical activities are all going to l33ad to health problems.
IMHO eating fries, drinking sugary drinks and smoking tobacco are all not great but only become a precursor to health problems when taken in excess.
. How about the truth, being fat and lazy are the leading causes of T2D. Doesnt matter what junk food you eat. Its all bad in large quantities.