Study About Potato Chips Leaves Bad Taste in Potato Producer’s Mouths

Do we really need another study to tell us that potato chips are bad for us? Harvard University thinks we do, and it's causing some potato producers to fight back.

According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, eating yogurt in place of a 1-ounce bag of potato chips saves almost a pound of weight gain every four years. The study also found that french fries were the worst food for gaining weight, contributing to an estimated 3.35 pounds of weight gain every four years.

Needless to say, this hasn't exactly been well-received by potato producers. Tim O'Connor, president and chief executive officer of of the U.S. Potato Board, says that the study conflicts with other findings that suggests people can eat anything in moderation. One person even went so far as to go on an all-potato diet for two months to prove that potatoes don't make you fat. (The result? He actually lost weight, about 21 pounds. I smell another possible fad diet...)

But you can't really blame the potato people for being upset about this. Ever since Atkins and other low-carb diets came around, potatoes have had a pretty bad reputation as a fattening food. But really what it comes down to it this: losing weight just by watching what you eat will more often than not backfire on you. Personally, I think that as long as you go moderately and exercise regularly, you can eat whatever you like and not have to worry so much about gaining weight.

And yes, that includes potatoes.