Dr. Atkins dies from fall on ice

Date: 19-04-2003 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

A controversial and outspoken doctor who advocated a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet began his path to fame in the Buckeye state.

Dr. Robert C. Atkins was born in Columbus and moved in seventh grade to Dayton, where his father owned restaurants.

As a 16-year-old senior at Fairview High School, Atkins finished second in a statewide general scholarship test.

"He was brilliant, articulate and sensitive," said Dayton resident Loretta Weber, who dated Atkins when he was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. "And he was movie-star handsome. When he came to the door, he was like Rock Hudson."

Atkins endured decades of criticism over whether people on his diet lost weight without compromising their health. He died Thursday at age 72, several days after suffering a severe head injury during a fall on the ice in New York City.

Atkins first advocated his diet plan -- which emphasizes meat, eggs and cheese and discourages bread, rice and fruit -- in his 1972 book, "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution."

When the book was published, the medical establishment was promoting a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. The American Medical Association dismissed the Atkins' diet as nutritional folly and Congress summoned him to Capitol Hill to defend the plan.

Labeling it "potentially dangerous," the AMA said

the diet's scientific underpinning was "naive" and "biochemically incorrect." It scolded the book's publishers for promoting "bizarre concepts of nutrition and dieting."

Despite this, Atkins' books sold 15 million copies and his diet attracted millions of followers. His philosophy enjoyed a revival in the 1990s with "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," which spent five years on The New York Times best-seller list. His most recent book, "Atkins for Life," has been on the Times' best-seller list since its release in January.

This year, his approach was vindicated in part by the very medical community that derided him. In February, some half-dozen studies showed people on the Atkins diet lost weight without compromising their health. The studies showed that Atkins dieters' cardiovascular risk factors and overall cholesterol profiles changed for the better.

"He was a trailblazer and pioneer in the field of alternative medicine -- not only driving and questioning public health issues but driving policies and science, too," said Colette Heimowitz, director of research and education for the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York.

Heather Jackson, a St. Martin's Press editor who worked with Atkins on his latest book, said he did not consider himself a diet guru.

"He considered himself a doctor," she said. "He believed that the nutritional approach he recommended was the way people should be eating for good health."

In an interview published this month in Business 2.0 magazine, Atkins said he was able to deal with criticism because of his unflagging belief in the diet.

"I want to eradicate obesity and diabetes," Atkins said. "I believe God wants me to do that."