Dr. Atkins

Robert Coleman Atkins, MD (October 17, 1930 – April 17, 2003) was an American doctor and cardiologist, best known for the Atkins Nutritional Approach (or "Atkins Diet"), a popular but controversial way of dieting that entails eating low-carbohydrate and high-protein foods, in addition to leaf vegetables and dietary supplements. Image File history File links DrRobertAtkins. ... Image File history File links DrRobertAtkins. ... Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or MD, from the Latin Medicinae Doctor meaning Teacher of Medicine,) is an academic degree for medical doctors. ... is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... The Atkins Nutritional Approach, popularly known as the Atkins Diet or just Atkins, is the most marketed and well-known of the low-carbohydrate diets. ... Measuring body weight on a scale Dieting is the practice of ingesting food in a regulated fashion to achieve a particular objective. ... Lactose is a disaccharide found in milk. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... Leaf vegetables, also called greens or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. ... In the United States, a dietary supplement is defined under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 as a product taken by the mouth that contains a dietary ingredient that is intended as a supplement to the diet. ...

Atkins graduated from the University of Michigan in 1951 and received a medical degree from Cornell Medical College in 1955, after which he specialized in cardiology and complementary medicine. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM, U of M or U-M) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan, and one of the foremost universities in the United States. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College is the medical school and biomedical research unit of Cornell University. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... A diagram of a heart with an ECG indicator; diagrams like this are used in Cardiology. ... Alternative medicine is defined as any of various systems of healing or treating disease (as chiropractic, homeopathy, or faith healing) not included in the traditional medical curricula taught in the United States and Britain.[1] Complementary medicine is defined as any of the practices (as acupuncture) of alternative medicine accepted...

Death

Around 2000, Atkins started to develop a heart condition, cardiomyopathy, which he claimed was unrelated to his diet.^[1][2] On April 18, 2002, Atkins suffered a cardiac arrest. He made a recovery and returned to work. is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

On April 8, 2003, Atkins slipped on ice and fell in front of his medical office in New York City and sustained major head injuries that put him in a coma. News of this quickly turned into rumors that Atkins had a heart attack while he was on his own diet. He never recovered from his injuries, and subsequently died on April 17 of kidney failure.^[3] By mistake, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office released Atkins' medical records to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group associated with PETA and which advocates a vegetarian diet. The record stated his weight to be approximately 255 lb (116 kg) at the time of death.^[2] In terms of simple height/weight measure (BMI), this would mean he was obese; the apparent irony of a diet guru being obese caused the information to be circulated around the world by the media and animal rights groups, much to the distress of his family. The Atkins company released a statement claiming that he weighed only 196 lb (89 kg) upon admission to the hospital and that his apparent increase in weight was due to fluid retention following the failure of his major organs.^[4] William Leith interviewed him in the period between his cardiac arrest and his fall. Leith writes, "He looks to be just under 6 feet tall and around 200 lbs – not skinny, not thin, but definitely not fat. The jowls around his neck are fairly minimal, signs of age rather than excess weight."^[5] April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... In medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep) is a profound state of unconsciousness. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Renal failure is when the kidneys fail to function properly. ... The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research. ... Peta can refer to: Peta (prefix), a prefix meaning times 1015 in the International System of Units People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal-rights organization People Eating Tasty Animals, a parody of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Peta, Greece, a town in the prefecture... A graph of body mass index is shown above. ... Obesity is an excess storage of fat and can affect any mammal, such as the mouse on the left. ...

Bankruptcy of company

On July 31, 2005, Atkins Nutritionals—the company that Dr. Atkins founded in 1989—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York.^[6] The company had ben hurt in recent years by the fading popularity of its namesake diet and the rising popularity of other high-protein/low-carb diet plans. The company emerged from bankruptcy January 10, 2006 with a business strategy that softened the emphasis on the low carbohydrate diet and concentrated on the sales of prepared nutritional bars and shakes.^[7] is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Atkins Nutritionals, Inc is the company founded in 1989 by Dr Robert Atkins to promote the Atkins Diet. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

References

1. ^ CNN Atkins diet author home after cardiac arrest 25 April 2002
2. ^ ^{a b} BBC Atkins widow furious at fat claim 10 February 2004
3. ^ BBC Diet guru Atkins dies 17 April 2003
4. ^ BBC Atkins 'was not obese at death' 12 February 2004
5. ^ William Leith The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict Bloomsbury ISBN 0-7475-7250-X, page 103 (paperback edition)
6. ^ BBC Atkins firm seeks financial help 1 August 2005
7. ^ Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. Emerges from Bankruptcy

Publications by Atkins

Publications include:

• Atkins, Robert C. The Essential Atkins for Life Kit: The Next Level Pan Macmillan, 2003. ISBN 0-330-43250-8
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Diet Planner M. Evans and Company, 2003 | Vermilion, 2003. ISBN 0-09-189877-3
• Atkins, Robert C. Atkins for Life: The Next Level New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. ISBN 1-4050-2110-1
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution New York: Avon Books, 2002. ISBN 0-06-001203-X. | Vermilion, 2003. ISBN 0-09-188948-0
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution M. Evans and Company, 2002.
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Age-Defying Diet St. Martin's Press, 2001, 2002
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature's Answers to Drugs Simon and Schuster, 1997
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Quick & Easy New Diet Cookbook Simon and Schuster, 1997
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter. New York: M. Evans and Company, 1996. ISBN 0-87131-815-6
• Atkins, Robert C, Gare, Fran Dr. Atkins' New Diet Cookbook M. Evans and Company, 1994 | Vermilion, 2003. ISBN 0-09-188946-4
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution M. Evans and Company, 1992
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Health Revolution Houghton Mifflin, 1988
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Nutrition Breakthrough Bantam, 1981
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' SuperEnergy Diet Cookbook Signet, 1978
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' SuperEnergy Diet Bantam, 1978
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Diet Cookbook Bantam, 1974
• Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution Bantam, 1972

External links

• Atkins Nutritionals
• Larry King interview
• BBC Obituary: Dr Robert Atkins 17 April 2003
• Snopes on Doctor Atkins' death
• The controversy over Dr. Atkins' health: Good Medicine, XIII (2-3), pp. 6-8.
• Robert Atkins at Find-A-Grave