Potatoes are receiving a bad rap over a reported link to hypertension and high blood pressure, in a major health study that also lists women as most affected.

However, several Australian experts have questioned the United States-based study, saying it is important to look at a person's diet holistically.

The study, titled Higher Potato Consumption Associated with Increased Risk of Blood Pressure, is published in today's edition of the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal).

Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said the association between eating potatoes and hypertension had not been studied before.

They said the issue was especially important due to the potato's recent inclusion as a vegetable in school lunch programs across the US.

The study analysed three large longitudinal studies in the US, following 187,000 men and women for more than 20 years.

After taking into account other risk factors, researchers found that for women, "four or more servings a week of baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes was associated with an increased risk of hypertension, compared with less than one serving a month".

The report said the consumption of baked, boiled or mashed potatoes did not increase the hypertension risk in men.

However, high consumption of French fries was associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure in both men and women.

Are there bad foods or just bad diets?

There is one spot of relief for the spud-lovers of the world, with an accompanying editorial in the same BMJ edition, by Professor Mark Harris from the University of New South Wales in Sydney and Dr Rachel Laws from Deakin University in Melbourne.

Dr Laws, a research fellow from Deakin's Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, said it would be far more useful to look at a person's overall diet, rather than just one food.

"We just wanted to put an opinion out there about the findings of the study, and to indicate that we think the overall pattern of eating is far more important to focus on than looking at individual foods than the consumption of potatoes," she said.

Dr Laws said findings from the study were far from clear cut.

"For example, in women they found eating baked, boiled and mashed potato was linked to increased blood pressure, but not for men," she said.

"Interestingly, eating potato chips or crisps was not linked to an increase in high blood pressure; indeed it showed a lower risk for men.

"There might be other factors explaining the findings."

Dr Rebecca Reynolds, a nutritionist and lecturer from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at UNSW, also sounded a cautionary note about the study.

"It is more important to look at the whole diet of a person rather than demonise the potato," she said.

"I do not think it is a good idea to tell people to avoid healthier ways of cooking potatoes.

"The benefits outweigh the negatives. They provide great nutrients and fibre.

"It is one of the staple foods in Australia, to be included as part of a healthy, well-balanced diet."

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