Love to eat potatoes? Consume the starchy vegetable baked or boiled, but not as French fries, according to a study which showed that eating the popular snack item thrice a week may increase the risk of diabetes by 20 per cent.

The study, which tracked the diets of more than 205,000 adults over decades, however, showed that other forms of potatoes -- including baked, boiled, and mashed -- do not increase the risk of diabetes.

The study, published in the BMJ, also found that swapping any form of potato for whole grains may lower the risk of diabetes.