Is eating French fries bad for the health? Not really, says study

People who love to eat French fries can enjoy this energy-dense food more following a study that says its consumption does not lead to negative health outcomes.

Findings from a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) reveal no substantial differences in fat mass (FM) or glucoregulatory biomarkers between potato and almond consumption after 30 days.

The investigators completed this RCT of 180 adults testing whether increased daily potato intake influenced energy balance relative to calorie-matched (300 kcal/d) almond consumption. Participants were randomly assigned to consume either of the following: French fries (potato group; n=60), French fries with herb/spices mix (potato + herb/spices group; n=60), or almond (almond group; n=60).

FM, the primary outcome, was measured at baseline and at 30 days using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Secondary outcomes were body weight and carbohydrate metabolism markers (HbA1c, fasting blood glucose and insulin, and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance [HOMA-IR]). A subset of five participants per group joined a postprandial meal-based tolerance test.

Of the 180 participants (mean age 30.4 years, 67.8 percent female, mean body mass index 26.1 kg/m², mean weight 75.6 kg), 15 did not finish the study.

FM changes did not significantly differ between almond and potato consumption (combined ± herb/spices; mean almond, 230.87 g; potato: 123.73 g; p=0.443), as did fasting glucose (p=0.985), insulin (p=0.082), HOMA-IR (p=0.080), and HbA1c (p=0.269).

Body weight change did not significantly differ in both potato groups relative to the almond group (p=0.116) but did so among the three groups (almond: 0.49 kg; potato: ‒0.24 kg; potato + herb/spices: 0.47 kg; p=0.014).

In meal tests, the investigators observed significantly lower postprandial glucose and insulin responses to almonds (p=0.046) compared with potatoes (p=0.006), with intermediate effects seen with potato + herb/spices.

“Results do not support a causal relation between increased French-fried potato consumption and the negative health outcomes studied,” the investigators said.