Potato foods
A visitor takes pictures at different types of food made of potatoes on display during the World Potato Congress on the outskirts of Beijing, China, July 28, 2015. Once seen as food for the poor, the humble potato is being pushed in China as a tasty, nutritious part of any meal as the world's most populous country struggles with water shortages and looks for alternatives to the traditional rice and noodles. China already produces 95 million tonnes of potatoes a year, a quarter of the global total, and is aiming to raise that to 130 million tonnes by 2020, government officials said at the World Potato Congress on the outskirts of Beijing this week. Picture taken July 28, 2015. Reuters

Women who ate great amounts of potatoes before pregnancy were found to have a higher risk of diabetes, which may cause future long-term health problems for mother and child, a new study shows. Potatoes were found to be high in carbohydrates that can increase blood sugar levels.

The study, published in The BMJ, shows women who frequently ate two to four 100 gramme servings of boiled, mashed, baked potatoes or chips every week had a 27 percent increased risk of diabetes during pregnancy. Consumption of more than five of the similar portion each week increased the risk by 50 percent.

These women are at risk of gestational diabetes, a complication that occurs during pregnancy. Recent studies already suggested a link between high-glycemic foods that could raise blood sugar levels and a higher risk of gestational or type-2 diabetes.

"Gestational diabetes can mean women develop pre-eclampsia during pregnancy and hypertension," lead author Cuilin Zhang from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US, told the BBC. "This can adversely affect the foetus, and in the long term, the mother may be at high risk of type-2 diabetes."

Potatoes are considered a common high-glycemic food. For the current study, researchers from NIH and Harvard University analysed the potential effect of potatoes on the development of gestational diabetes.

The team assessed health records from 1991 to 2001 of more than 15,000 women who had no history of illness and gestational diabetes before pregnancy. Every four years, the women were asked to fill out a questionnaire on the kinds of foods they had eaten in the previous year.

They were also asked if they had consumed baked, boiled or mashed potatoes, fries or potato chips. Results show those who ate more potatoes had a higher risk of gestational diabetes compared to women who consumed fewer potatoes. However, the researchers noted further studies are needed to confirm their findings.

"This study does not prove that eating potatoes before pregnancy will increase a woman's risk developing gestational diabetes, but it does highlight a potential association between the two,” said Dr. Emily Burns of Diabetes UK.

The team suggests eating other vegetables, legumes or whole grains instead of potatoes may potentially help reduce gestational diabetes risk. They estimate that if women eat these foods as an alternative to potatoes at least twice a week, they could reduce the risk of diabetes during pregnancy by nine to 12 percent.

RELATED STORIES