Preliminary research demonstrates that regular consumption of white potatoes that have been baked, boiled or mashed, is not associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes or levels of C-reactive protein. 

Teh research was presented this week at The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego.

Previous studies examining the association between potato consumption and disease states have failed to consider demographic factors that could potentially confound the relationships such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education, but this one has taken such factors into account, EurekAlert.

“One of the purposes of this study was that we hypothesized demographic factors – particularly socio-economic status – might be associated with both potato consumption and the prevalence of obesity and diabetes. Therefore we controlled for these factors,” said lead researcher Adam Drewnowski, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Nutritional Sciences Program at the University of Washington.

Dr. Drewnowski and colleagues examined dietary intake and health data in a representative sample of 5,800 adults using two cycles (2003-2004 and 2005-2006) of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).