Watch CBS News

Eating More Potatoes, French Fries Linked To High Blood Pressure

BOSTON (CBS) – The next time someone asks "Do you want fries with that?" you might want to consider your heart.

A new study by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that eating more potatoes and French fries may result in higher blood pressure.

People who ate four or more servings of potatoes a week had an 11 percent higher risk of hypertension compared to people who ate less than a serving per month, the study found. Frequent consumption of French fries raised that risk to 17 percent.

"Additionally, we found that if a participant replaced one serving of boiled, baked or mashed potato per day with a non-starchy vegetable, it was associated with a lower risk of hypertension," Brigham Dr. Lea Borgi said in a statement.

The study was published in the new edition of the British Medical Journal and included tens of thousands of men and women.

Surprisingly, there was no link between eating potato chips and increased risk of hypertension.

Further study is needed to make a definite link between eating potatoes and higher blood pressure, researchers said.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.