Atkins Under Fire
By Steve Edwards

The most popular diet on the market today, Atkins, has come under fire recently in the major press. This is nothing new to members of the Beachbody Message Boards community, as we've been critical of this diet from the get-go. But the mainstream has been slow to scrutinize, perhaps wowed by the "all you can eat" lifestyle the diet seems to promote. The recent death of its founder, Dr. Robert Atkins, has spurred the media to take another look, which has uncovered some rather alarming facts and caused a major backtrack in the company's philosophy.

Last week, most major publications ran articles revealing that Atkins himself was obese, a fact that no one seemed to care much about while he was living. This story originated in The Wall Street Journal, which cited a report by the New York City medical examiner which stated that before his death, Atkins had suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure, and hypertension. At 6 feet tall, he weighed 258 pounds, which is considered obese by his own definition.

The Atkins Physicians Council in New York was quick to say the examiner's report was false, claiming that Atkins' heart problems were due to cardiomyopathy, a condition thought to stem from a viral infection. His wife, Veronica Atkins, told the WSJ: "I have been assured by my husband's physicians that my husband's health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet, or any diet."

However, the fact that another Atkins revelation surfaced in the press just a few weeks prior lends an air of "smoke screen" to this report. Back in January, The New York Times reported that Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. was advising its clients to limit their intake of saturated fats by cutting back on their former staples: meat, cheese, and butter. This advice contradicts Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, first published in 1992, which states that beef, pork, lamb, and butter are "foods you may eat liberally."

According to The Times, Colette Heimowitz, director of research and education at Atkins, now says saturated fats should account for no more than 20% of their clients' calories.

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On the heels of all the recent statistics on obesity, UCLA Healthcare magazine has reported a drastic rise in type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity, poor dietary practices, and a sedentary lifestyle. According to estimates, as many as 20 million people now have the disease and that number is expected to double by 2025. Perhaps the most alarming news is that this condition, first coined "adult onset diabetes," has affected so many children that its name is now considered a misnomer.

But the news is not all bad. With more patients to study, we have been able to learn much more about the disease and how to both prevent and treat it. Studies suggest that making simple lifestyle changes, such as a healthier diet and 30 minutes of exercise five days per week, can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.

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