Denver-based Potato Board fires back at New England Journal of Medicine

Do not mess with the Potato Board.

That was the message sent out yesterday by the Denver-based United States Potato Board, in response to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine that states potatoes make your body resemble Mr. Potato Head.

In one of the more unintentionally amusing press releases we've seen lately, the Potato Board -- found online at the adorably named potatogoodness.com -- reiterates that potatoes are, in fact, vegetables.

"Potatoes are vegetables. In fact, they are one of the most naturally nutrient-dense vegetables available," reads the press release, typed in bold font.

The study, released Thursday -- you have to be a subscriber, but the article is here -- showed an average weight gain over four years of 3.35 pounds. The largest contributors to that gain were potato chips, followed by potatoes, followed by soda, red meat and the other usual suspects.

"The researchers call into question the long-validated idea that the ultimate determinate of weight gain and weight loss is calories in and calories out," says Dr. Katherine Beals, R.D., FACSM and a nutrition consultant to the United States Potato Board, in a statement. "But the study says, 'Total energy intake ... [was] not included as [a] covariable.' This means calories weren't included in the analysis. So it's disingenuous for the researchers to say calories aren't important because their study didn't control for them."

The Potato Board, now forty years old, was started by a group of potato growers and is headquartered at 7555 East Hampden Avenue.

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On the next page is the full statement from the Board.