A team of researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Brescia and the CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate society (Italy) has concluded that eating two to three servings of potato chips per week can not only increase but double the risk of premature death. This is the main conclusion of the study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition after analyzing the data of more than 4,400 people.
While the potato itself can be part of a healthy diet, some studies have suggested that overeating can pose health risks (hypertension, for example).
For their study, the researchers counted with data from the cohort study of Osteoarthritis Initiative EE. UU. With 4,440 adults, aged 45 to 79 years of age, with the intention to examine the effects of the consumption of potatoes mortality. The volunteers were followed for 8 years.
Throughout the study, the participants completed a questionnaire on feeding; data they used to check the participants’ weekly potato and potato chip intake.
During the 8 years that the study lasted, 236 participants died.
Although eating potato did not stand out for having a relevant link with the risk of mortality, the intake of fried potatoes did stand out. The researchers found that compared to adults who did not eat potato chips, those who ate about two to three servings of potato chips each week had twice the risk of premature death. Eating more than three servings further increased this risk.
Since the study is exclusively observational, no firm conclusions can be made, but the authors note that “frequent consumption of potato chips appears to be associated with an increased risk of mortality, and further studies with larger samples should be conducted to confirm whether general consumption of potatoes is associated with an increased risk of mortality. “
Reference: Fried potato consumption is associated with elevated mortality: an 8-y longitudinal cohort study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. June 2017. doi: 10.3945 / ajcn.117.154872.
