12 Foods That Pack On The Pounds

According to a Harvard study conducted over twenty years, these 12 foods have been linked to a significant increase in weight... and combined, contributed to an increase in 17lbs. over 20 years. Sounds not-so-bad, however, the study was performed on 120,877 non-obese people. For each four-year period, food choices contributed to an extra four pounds while exercise cut less than two pounds. 

1 = an increase of less than 1lb. a year

12 = an increase of ~2lbs. a year

1 - butter

2 - fruit juice

3 - fried food

4 - refined grains (white rice)

5 - sweets & desserts

6 - potatoes

7 - trans fats

8 - processed meat (bacon, hot dogs, etc)

9 - unprocessed red meat (beef, steak, hamburger)

10 - sugar sweetened soda

11 - potato chips

12 - french fries

Naturally, I'm upset because french fries (ranked #12 here) are the worst food you can eat and simultaneously one of my favorite foods of all time. I just hope that pairing it with an unnatural amount of ketchup keeps my heart and waistline safe.