Not the potato's fault, just the meals that surround it. Probably the only tradition potato prep that has a chance of being sort of healthy is mashed potatoes. Even then, those often get loaded up with milk, butter, and gravy.
Take rice on the opposite end. Just as unhealthy as potatoes yet a ton of traditional rice meals are super healthy.
I feel like the worst parts of the US diet are not the staples or the meats or anything like that, it's all the additions - too much butter, ketchup, dressings, syrups, sauces, cheeses, added bread (crusts, buns and crumbs) etc. on everything. When your taste buds are nuked by this stuff all the time it's hard to appreciate subtle flavors.
Mash potatoes involve peeling them. That’s a waste of time and nutrients.
If plane, you basically can’t over eat them. You be full quickly.
I feel like I'm in some kind of twilight zone with fifteen HNers attacking me for saying a pretty much accepted truth about potatoes (that it is an extremely starch-rich vegetable that's fairly low in other nutrients). I don't understand the reason for this. Is everyone here on a potato diet?
You get obese from eating too many calories, source is irrelevant. Sugars and refined foods are dangerous because they are particularly addictive. But if you crave carbs, and think potatoes are a "healthy" way to satisfy that craving, you're very wrong.
I think it has to do with the fact that there’s zero marketing budget for a food sold for $1/kg and, like anything else, can be prepared in a healthy way or horribly unhealthy way.