That yummy golden crunchy snack is one of America’s favorites. However, if you make it a daily habit to nosh on the deep fried taters you could be looking at nasty consequence. According to a recent Harvard study, potato chips are one of the dietary prime movers of obesity in America.

The New England journal of medicine conducted a study about participants eating certain types of food habitually over the course of four years and the correlation with weight gain or loss. Those who ate an additional serving of potatoes on a daily basis gained an average of 1.28 pounds every year. It is baffling that the study findings revealed that potatoes were more damaging to the participants’ health than cakes, cookies and donuts. These three sweets comprise the majority of calories in the typical diet of an American.

Yet consumers in our country spend an estimated average of $7 billion dollars on potato chips, yearly. Time.com sampled seven different alternatives to the salty, weight inducing potato chip and presented the results here.

The New England Journal of Medicine study also suggests that based on this evidence, someone trying to watch their weight should not count calories, but rather focus on making better food choices. Aside from potato chips, sugary drinks, processed meat and red meat were main causes of weight gain overtime.

Wall Street Journal attempted to get some insight. Though, when they tried to interview spokespeople for the potato industry and the Frito-Lay company, they had no comment.