Intake of Potatoes Is Associated with Higher Diet Quality, and Improved Nutrient Intake and Adequacy among US Adolescents: NHANES 2001-2018 Analysis.

Sanjiv Agarwal,Victor L Fulgoni

doi:10.3390/nu13082614

Abstract

Potatoes are nutrient rich white vegetables, however, research on their impact on public health is limited. The objective of this study was to provide updated evaluation of the cross-sectional association between potato consumption and diet quality, nutrient intake and adequacy. Twenty-four hour diet recall data from adolescents (n = 16,633; age 9–18 years) were used to assess intakes. Usual intakes of nutrients were determined using the National Cancer Institute method and diet quality was calculated using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) after adjusting for demographic factors. Consumers of potatoes (baked or boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes and potato mixtures, fried potatoes, and potato chips) had higher (p < 0.05) HEI-2015 total score and subcomponent scores for total vegetables, total protein foods, and refined grain than non-consumers. Consumers also had higher (p < 0.05) intake of energy, dietary fiber, protein, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, zinc, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K and total choline; and higher (p < 0.05) adequacy for protein, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and vitamin K than non-consumers. In conclusion, adolescent potato consumption was associated with higher diet quality, nutrient intake, and adequacy and therefore encouraging their consumption may be an effective strategy for improving nutritional status.

Highlights

Potatoes are the most widely consumed non-cereal staple food consumed worldwide [1]. They are nutrient-rich, typically white, vegetables providing significant amounts of key essential nutrients, including dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and phytonutrients [2,3,4] and are a more affordable source of nutrients with more favorable overall nutrient-to-price ratio compared to many other vegetables [5]
While potatoes are regarded as vegetables in United States (US) dietary recommendations [6], they are not considered as vegetables by World Health Organization [7] and are grouped as cereals in the United Kingdom National Food guide [8]
NationalHealth and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a continuous large survey of a nationally representative sample of the non-institutionalized US population conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, were used to assess potato intake [27]. 24 h dietary recall data of 16,633 adolescents 9–18 years participating in nine cycles of NHANES 2001–2018 were combined for the analyses to increase the sample size

Summary

Introduction

Potatoes are the most widely consumed non-cereal staple food consumed worldwide [1]. They are nutrient-rich, typically white, vegetables providing significant amounts of key essential nutrients, including dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and phytonutrients [2,3,4] and are a more affordable source of nutrients with more favorable overall nutrient-to-price ratio compared to many other vegetables [5]. In the US, potato consumption is over 100 pounds per year per capita, accounting for ~30% of total vegetable intake [9] Their intake was estimated to be 0.35 cup equivalents/day/person in an analysis of National. Potatoes are classified as starchy vegetables because carbohydrates and especially starch (amylose, amylopectin, and resistant starch) are their predominant macronutrient

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