A new peer-reviewed study has found that consumers often perceive potato-based foods as less healthy than nutrition experts do, highlighting a broader disconnect between public opinion and expert assessments of carbohydrate-containing foods.

Published in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association, the research compared consumer perceptions with five nutrition profiling systems used by experts to evaluate the healthfulness of foods. The study examined 20 representative carbohydrate-containing foods, including baked potatoes, French fries, potato chips, white rice, white bread, corn tortillas and fruit juice fortified with vitamin C.

Researchers found that consumer perceptions differed substantially from expert assessments across most foods. According to the study, 85% of the foods received a low consumer-to-expert alignment grade, while 75% were classified as “uncertain” because the expert nutrition rating systems themselves did not consistently agree on their healthfulness.

Among the foods evaluated, potato products—including baked potatoes, French fries and potato chips—as well as unbuttered air-popped popcorn were generally rated less healthy by consumers than by the harmonized expert nutrition rating systems. By contrast, honey was the food most commonly perceived by consumers as healthier than experts considered it to be.

The authors argue that improving consistency across nutrition rating systems should be a priority, alongside better public communication about commonly consumed carbohydrate-rich foods.

According to the paper’s authors, Josh Erndt-Marino of Bespoke Analytics and Alyssa Ghirardelli of NORC at the University of Chicago, “There are two priorities. First, improve consistency in how and why carbohydrate-containing foods are rated across food rating systems developed by experts, including how uncertainty and disagreement are communicated. Second, in consumer messaging, prioritize misperceptions about the healthfulness of commonly consumed foods such as white rice, white bread, corn tortillas, and fruit juice with vitamin C.”

The researchers say their “health belief mapping” approach provides a framework for identifying where consumer understanding differs most from expert opinion and could help guide future nutrition communication, food labeling and public health policy.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association and was supported by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) Carbohydrates Committee.