Potatoes and Weight Gain: They Might be a Problem

Potatoes seem to be a particular culprit for weight gain and diabetes:

A 2011 study by Mozaffarian et al. that tracked the diet and lifestyle habits of 120,000 men and women for up to 20 years looked at how small food-choice changes contributed to weight gain over time.

• People who increased their consumption of French fries and baked or mashed potatoes gained more weight over time—an extra 3.4 and 1.3 pounds every four years, respectively. [7]
• People who decreased their intake of these foods gained less weight, as did people who increased their intake of other vegetables.

A similar long-term study found that high potato and French fry intakes were linked to a greater risk of diabetes in women, and that replacing potatoes with whole grains could lower diabetes risk. [9]

Potatoes do contain important nutrients—vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin B6, to name a few. But the potato is not the only source of these nutrients, nor is it the best:

• Broccoli, for example, has nearly nine times as much vitamin C as a potato.

Source