Fries, with a side of diabetes

EAting leash servings of fries a hebdomad is associated with a 20% increased put on the line of underdeveloped typewrite 2 diabetes, but similar amounts of potatoes cooked in other ways — boiled, baked or mashed — do not substantially increase the risk, according to a study published in medical journal The BMJ on Wednesday.The study also found that replacing any form of potatoes with whole grains is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, or T2D, but swapping them for white rice is linked to an increased risk.“In the pooled analysis of the three cohorts, adjusted for age and total energy intake, a strong association was found between total potato intake and higher risk of T2D,” the study said.While the study did not specify the exact portion size it took into account, according to one of the authors, one serving of baked, boiled or mashed one serving was around one medium potato or one cup, while for fries, it was between 110g and 170gm.Potatoes, the third most commonly consumed food crop and the main non-cereal food, contribute a substantial quantity of daily energy, the authors said in the study. Potatoes contain several nutrients including fibre, vitamin C, and magnesium, but they also have a high starch content and therefore a high glycaemic index, and so they have been linked to a higher risk of developing type-2 diabetes.“But neither the preparation method for potatoes nor specific foods that potatoes would replace have been considered, both of which are key to evaluating the overall health impact of potatoes,” the authors said in the paper.To address this, the researchers investigated the association between intake of potatoes prepared by different methods (boiled, baked, or mashed versus French fries) and risk of type 2 diabetes. They also looked at the impact of replacing potatoes with other major carbohydrates, such as whole grains and rice, had on health.India has the third highest number of people who are overweight and obese. Obesity is associated with over 200 diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes. According to a 2021 study— Epidemiology of type 2 diabetes in India— 77 million individuals had diabetes in India in 2019, which is expected to rise to over 134 million by 2045.The findings published in the peer-review medical journal are based on over 205,000 health professionals from three large US studies carried out between 1984 and 2021. Participants were free of diabetes, heart disease or cancer and completed detailed food questionnaires every four years.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 potato, 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, the study said.Replacing three weekly servings of total potato 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%.In contrast, replacing total potatoes or baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with white rice was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, the researchers found.“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,” the authors of the study said.