--- title: Eating French Fries Is Linked to a Higher Risk of Death description: A new study suggests eating fried potatoes at least twice a week with an increased risk of mortality. canonical: https://time.com/4811136/fried-potatoes-mortality-study/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-09T15:12:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:57:52.845Z article:section: Health og:title: Eating French Fries Is Linked to a Higher Risk of Death og:description: Sorry, French fry fans og:url: https://time.com/4811136/fried-potatoes-mortality-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cbb988635c0e409/698878bca988ca5c746b613a/french-fries-4-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: french-fries-4-junk-food-diet-health-motto-stock og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Eating French Fries Is Linked to a Higher Risk of Death twitter:description: Sorry, French fry fans twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cbb988635c0e409/698878bca988ca5c746b613a/french-fries-4-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Eating French Fries Is Linked to a Higher Risk of Death > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 9, 2017 3:12 PM UTC  Molly Cranna for TIME  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 9, 2017 3:12 PM UTC People have long known French fries [aren’t great for your health](http://time.com/4643779/scientists-french-fries-cancer/)—but now a study has linked eating fried potatoes at least twice a week with an increased risk of death. The [study, published in the ](http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2017/06/07/ajcn.117.154872.abstract?papetoc)[_American Journal of Clinical Nutrition_](http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2017/06/07/ajcn.117.154872.abstract?papetoc)_,_ looked at potato consumption in 4,400 older people between ages 45 and 79 over the course of eight years. By the end of the study, 236 people had died. After adjusting for several factors, eating potatoes overall (even a lot of them) did not increase a person’s risk for death. But when researchers looked more closely at the types of potatoes people were eating, they found that eating fried potatoes—including French fries, fried potatoes and hash browns—at least two times per week was linked to a more than doubled risk of death. Eating unfried potatoes, such as potato salad and boiled, baked and mashed potatoes, was not linked to an increased risk of death. **MORE:** [Should I Eat French Fries?](http://time.com/3896083/french-fries-potato/) [Unfried white potatoes are a relatively healthy food](http://time.com/3734679/potato-healthy/?iid=sr-link1) because they contain a good amount of fiber, vitamins and micronutrients, the study authors write, which “could have counterbalanced the detrimental effects of their high glycemic index.” Fried potatoes, however, typically have lots of fat and [added salt](http://time.com/4746932/sodium-salt-fast-food/?iid=sr-link3). For now, the link is merely an association, and more research with larger groups of people is needed to investigate the link before saying that overeating fries causes an increased risk of death. Until then, the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion recommends 3–5 servings of vegetables per day. While starchy vegetables like potatoes count towards that goal, the center’s food pyramid [instructs people](https://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/archived%5Fprojects/FGPPamphlet.pdf) to choose preparations of vegetables that are low in fat—not fried. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4811136/fried-potatoes-mortality-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4811136/fried-potatoes-mortality-study/"},"headline":"Eating French Fries Is Linked to a Higher Risk of Death","datePublished":"2017-06-09T15:12:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:52.845Z","description":"Sorry, French fry fans","url":"https://time.com/4811136/fried-potatoes-mortality-study/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Living","Food & Drink","Research","health","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cbb988635c0e409/698878bca988ca5c746b613a/french-fries-4-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cbb988635c0e409/698878bca988ca5c746b613a/french-fries-4-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"french-fries-4-junk-food-diet-health-motto-stock","caption":"french-fries-4-junk-food-diet-health-motto-stock","creditText":"Molly Cranna for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4811136/fried-potatoes-mortality-study/","name":"Eating French Fries Is Linked to a Higher Risk of Death"}}]}] ```