Eating fries (French fries) three times a week increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 20%, but boi..

사진 확대 [Photo source = Yonhap News]

Eating fries (French fries) three times a week increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 20%, but boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes are not associated with increased risk of diabetes, according to a study.

Dr. Seyed Mohammad Musavi’s team at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Health said in the medical journal British Medical Journal (BMJ) on the 7th that they have conducted a follow-up survey of 205,000 participants in a large-scale study of medical health workers in the United States for up to 40 years to confirm this association.

Professor Walter Willett, corresponding author of the paper, said, “This result sends a strong message that small changes in daily diet can have a significant impact on the risk of type 2 diabetes,” adding, “Restricting French fries and choosing whole-grain carbohydrates can help reduce the risk of diabetes in the population as a whole.”

Potatoes contain various nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamin C, and magnesium, but they are considered foods related to increased risk of type 2 diabetes due to their high starch content.

The research team pointed out that potato cooking methods or specific foods to replace potatoes are important factors in evaluating the overall health impact of potatoes, but have not been properly considered.

In the study, they analyzed diet and diabetes outcomes from data from three studies involving 205,107 health care workers between 1984 and 2021, investigating the association between potato recipes and diabetes, and the health effects of potato alternatives.

Participants regularly answered dietary surveys for more than 30 years, recording the frequency of consumption of certain foods such as fries, boiled/baked/cooked potatoes, and whole grains in detail, and also reported health examinations, lifestyle, and demographic factors.

In a follow-up period of up to 40 years, 22,299 people were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

As a result of analyzing the association with type 2 diabetes risk by reflecting lifestyle and diet factors related to diabetes risk, those who eat French fries three times a week had a 20% higher risk of developing the disease than those who do not.

However, boiling, baking, or eating similar amounts in crushed form was not significantly associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

In addition, replacing any type of potato with whole grains reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes, but replacing potatoes with white rice rather increased the risk.

Replacing potatoes with whole grains three times a week reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 19%, and replacing boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes with whole grains reduced the risk by 4% overall.

The findings show that the association between potato consumption and type 2 diabetes risk depends on recipes and alternative foods, the research team said. “This is also consistent with current dietary recommendations that encourage wholegrain consumption to prevent type 2 diabetes.”

“Although boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes with relatively low environmental impact and good health can be included in a healthy and sustainable diet, whole grains should still be prioritized,” he added. “Follow-up studies are needed with more diverse population groups considering both cooking methods and alternative foods.”