No association between white potatoes, (baked, boiled, or mashed) and systemic inflammation, obesity, or type II diabetes: Analysis of 2003–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

Research exploring the association between specific foods and disease often fails to control for potential confounders, including socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. This study examined the association between consuming white potatoes (baked, boiled or mashed) and obesity, diabetes and systemic inflammation (serum c‐reactive protein [CRP]), while controlling for covariates (e.g., age, sex, race, education, diet quality and physical activity) in a representative sample of 5,800 US adults. Dietary and health data were obtained from the 2003–4 and 2005–6 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Consumption of potatoes was obtained from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Among adults, 15% consumed potatoes ≥3 times/wk. After adjusting for covariates, adults consuming potatoes ≥3 times/wk had a non‐significant 10% increased likelihood of being obese (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9–1.3). There was a non‐significant negative association between potato consumption and diabetes (prevalence ratio 0.9, 95% CI 0.6–1.3) and there was no association between potato consumption and CRP. There was no evidence that consumption of baked, boiled or mashed white potatoes increased the likelihood of obesity or diabetes. The limitations of this study were the cross‐sectional design and the lack of data on portion sizes from the FFQ. Partial funding for this project was provided by the US Potato Board.