Research results have varied over the years concerning the Atkins diet. The research has tended to support that Atkins followers have experienced comparable or higher weight loss than people on traditional low-fat diets with higher amounts of carbohydrates, but for only a six-month period. After 12 months, weight loss was about equal. Some research also has shown that the diet has not produced damaging cholesterol or heart effects, but these studies have not been large, long-term trials. For example, effects of increased fat consumption on diet followers’ hearts may take years to
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR
- What aspects of the Atkins diet do you feel are appropriate for weight loss?
- How often would I need to be seen by a physician or registered dietitian while following the atkins diet?
surface and in any medical research, large numbers of participants are needed to account for many variables.
In 2004, Jody Gorran, a 53-year-old businessman from Florida, sued the promoters of the Atkins diet, saying that the plan clogged his arteries and nearly killed him. Mr. Gorran claimed that he was seduced by the plan and that by eating the high levels of protein and fats touted by the plan, his cholesterol soared. His lawsuit was backed by the Washington-based advocacy group called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Mr. Gorran sought damages and to seek an injunction preventing the sale of Atkins’ books and products without fair and adequate warnings about the dangers of the diet. The lawsuit was dismissed late in 2006 by a judge, but an appeals continue.
Atkins’ company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2005. The company completed its Chapter 11 reorganization by January 2006, having streamlined some operations, and continued to operate early in 2007, making Dr. Atkins’ diet run more than 35 years long.
Controversy even surrounded Atkins’ death in 2003. Though he died when he slipped on the ice outside his office in February 2003. He spent eight days in a coma before dying, and a copy of the medical examiner’s report showed that his weight upon death was 258 pounds. Critics of Atkins’s diet said that this was considered obese for a man who was six feet tall. His allies said that most of the pounds were gained in Atkins’ time in a coma because of fluid retention. But even while Atkins was alive, he had reportedproblems with his heart, though his physician’s council said the trouble was from an enlarged heart, which had stemmed from a viral infection, not from his diet.
Though Dr. Atkins added that numerous studies pointed to the fact that carbohydrates were to blame for weight gain, an explanation for how his diet program worked was never really offered by researchers. Numerous studies continued throughout the 1990s and even after Dr. Atkins’ death. Though some studies showed that people on the Atkins diet often lost weight faster in six months than those on other weight loss programs, the long-term effectiveness and possible harmful effects of the Atkins diet required more study.
In 1992, Dr. Atkins updated his Diet Revolution and by 2004 Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution had sold more than 45 million copies and been translated into 25 languages. The new plan was the same, but the maintenance portion of the diet was made a little more liberal. The diet was extremely popular, as were Atkins Nutritionals products, such as vitamin supplements and numerous food items. A later Web-based version called the Atkins Advantage emphasized the products of Atkins Nutritionals and offered additional books, software, and information on a company Website to support the program’s goals and products.
