At the end of a long day nothing is better than grabbing a bag of potato chips and plopping yourself down on the couch. As great as this may feel in the moment the consequences of consuming that many potato chips may be threatening to your health in ways you never even imagined. I first thought of this idea when I found myself eating a whole bag of chips after a long day of classes. I thought about it and chips are a snack that is very cheap, sold virtually everywhere and extremely tasty.
George Crum first invented potato chips in 1853 and the rest is history. But beneath that delicious salty taste lie chemicals that may be detrimental to our health. Butylhydroxytoluene also known as BHT is a chemical in potato chips that is meant to prevent the chips from going bad. It is also used in products such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to keep those from going bad too. This chemical is also known to cause cancer when consumed in large amounts.
Not only are chips bad for you in that they contain chemicals but they are extremely caloric and contribute to weight gain substantially. 15-20 chips contain around 154 calories. In 2011 the “New England Journal of medicine” did a study where they discovered if you eat an ounce of potato chips every day it lead to an average of 1.69 lbs. weight gain over the course of four years. Weight gain and potato chips were directly correlated. This correlation was stronger than any other processed food and weight gain.
So in conclusion it has been determined that chips really are that bad for you. So at the end of a long day as opposed to eating a whole bag of chips try some fruit or nuts.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/440025-why-are-chips-bad-for-you/
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/negative-effects-chips-2980.html
I found this point very interesting, but like Christine, I feel like there are many factors that can contribute to the supposed 1.69 lbs of weight gained a year by eating potato chips. My roommate loves chips, and while i’m not really a fan I do snack on them occasionally. Lays potato chips have no preservatives or additives according to this article http://www.livestrong.com/article/265568-lays-potato-chip-nutritional-information/ So i’d be curious to know what kind of chips the New England Journal attributes the weight gain to, and if brands of chips would have the same outcome.
This is an interesting correlation you found between chips and weight gain, but I have to wonder if it makes a difference what kind of chips are eaten. There’s the possibility that Lays’ chips are worse for you than Herr’s or vice versa and then the variations of chips from kettle cooked to reduced fat might be another altering factor.