The United States Potato Board (USPB) believes a study released in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine perpetuates unfortunate myths and misconceptions about the potato.

Singling out the potato as a cause of weight gain is misleading and contrary to existing research.

"The researchers call into question the long-validated idea that the ultimate determinate of weight gain and weight loss is calories in and calories out," says Dr. Katherine Beals, R.D., FACSM and a nutrition consultant to the United States Potato Board. "But the study says ‘Total energy intake ... [was] not included as [a] covariable.' This means calories weren't included in the analyses. So it's disingenuous for the researchers to say calories aren't important because their study didn't control for them."