It’s generally accepted that eating starchy food products dipped in a vat of high-temperature oil doesn’t inspire quality heart health, but a study finds scientific evidence connecting the consumption of fried potatoes and a higher risk of death.

The data, published Thursday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, concluded that people who ate fried potatoes two or more times per week are at double the risk of an early death compared with those who didn’t.

Led by researchers from the University of Padua in Italy, the study examined the association between consuming both fried and unfried potatoes and mortality. The study followed 4,400 men and women with an average age of 45 to 79.

“The frequent consumption of fried potatoes appears to be associated with an increased mortality risk,” the authors wrote in their conclusion. “Additional studies in larger sample sizes should be performed to confirm if overall potato consumption is associated with higher mortality risk.”

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