Years active 43 Role Physician Name Robert Atkins | Known for Atkins diet Organization Atkins Nutritionals Spouse Veronica Atkins (m. 1986) | |
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Full Name Robert Coleman Atkins Born October 17, 1930 ( 1930-10-17 ) Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Alma mater University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Cornell University Occupation Internal medicine
Cardiology Notable work Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution (1972)
Dr. Atkins' Superenergy Diet (1977)
Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (1999) Died April 17, 2003, New York City, New York, United States Movies The Cardinal, Atkins Complete: Fast, Easy & Healthy Parents Eugene Atkins, Norma Atkins Education Cornell University, University of Michigan, Weill Cornell Medicine Books Dr Atkins' new diet revolution, Atkins for Life, Dr Atkins' Vita‑Nutrient Solution, Dr Atkins' Quick & Easy Ne, Dr Atkins' Diet Revolutio | ||
Robert Coleman Atkins (October 17, 1930 – April 17, 2003) was an American physician and cardiologist, best known for the "Atkins Nutritional Approach", or "Atkins Diet", a fad diet that requires close control of carbohydrate consumption, emphasizing protein and fat as the primary sources of dietary calories in addition to a controlled number of carbohydrates from vegetables.
Contents
Although the commercial success of Atkins' diet plan, weightloss books, and lifestyle company, Atkins Nutritionals, led Time to name the doctor one of the ten most influential people in 2002, there is no good evidence that his diet is an effective approach to weight loss.
Early life
Atkins was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Eugene and Norma (Tuckerman) Atkins. At the age of twelve, his family moved to Dayton, Ohio, where his father owned several restaurants. As a young teen, Atkins held various jobs, including a position selling shoes at the age of 14 and a later gig on a local radio show. He attended Fairview High School in Dayton and, in 1947, finished second among 8,500 seniors on a statewide general scholarship test. Upon graduating from the University of Michigan in 1951, Atkins had thoughts of becoming a comedian and spent the summer as a waiter and entertainer at various resorts in the Adirondacks.
He eventually decided to pursue medicine, however, and received a medical degree at Cornell University Medical College (now known as Weill Cornell Medical College) in 1955. After completing an internship at Strong Hospital in Rochester, New York and finishing his residency in cardiology and internal medicine at hospitals affiliated with Columbia University, Dr. Atkins specialized in cardiology and complementary medicine, and went on to open a private practice on the Upper East Side of New York City in 1959. He married his wife Veronica when he was 56.
Diet
The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate diet promoted by Atkins and inspired by a research paper he read in The Journal of the American Medical Association. The paper entitled "Weight Reduction" was published by Alfred W. Pennington in 1958.
The Atkins diet is classified as a fad diet. There is only weak evidence supporting its effectiveness in helping achieve sustainable weight loss.
Cardiac arrest
Atkins suffered cardiac arrest in April 2002, leading many of his critics to point to this episode as proof of the inherent dangers in the consumption of high levels of saturated fat associated with the Atkins diet. In numerous interviews, however, Atkins stated that his cardiac arrest was not the result of poor diet, but was rather caused by a chronic infection. Atkins' personal physician and cardiologist, Dr. Patrick Fratellone, confirmed this assertion, saying, "We have been treating this condition, cardiomyopathy, for almost two years. Clearly, [Atkins'] own nutritional protocols have left him, at the age of 71, with an extraordinarily healthy cardiovascular system".
Dr. Fratellone treated Dr. Atkins from 1999 until 2002, and also worked with the doctor at the Atkins Center. He says Atkins suffered from cardiomyopathy, a chronic heart weakness. But this condition, he says, was caused by a virus—not his diet: “I was his attending cardiologist at that time. And I made the statement… When we did his angiogram, I mean, the doctor who performed it, said it's pristine for someone that eats his kind of diet… Pristine, meaning these are very clean arteries. I didn't want people to think that his diet caused his heart muscle – it was definitely a documented viral infection.”
According to reports on CNN at the time of Atkins' convalescence, Dr. Clyde Yancy, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and a member of the American Heart Association's national board of directors reported that "despite the obvious irony, I believe there is a total disconnect between [Atkins'] cardiac arrest and the health approach he popularizes".
Critics often misinterpreted this incident as a heart attack instead of an episode of cardiac arrest caused by his condition and often use the two interchangeably when citing the incident however the two are distinct problems. The American Heart Association clearly defines and shows the distinction between the two.
Death
Dr. Atkins died On April 17, 2003, at the age of 72. Atkins official death certificate states the cause of death as "Blunt impact injury of head with epidural hematoma". Nine days prior to his death, Atkins fell and hit his head on an icy New York pavement. At New York's Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was admitted on April 8, he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain but went into a coma and died from complications. He spent nine days in intensive care before dying on April 17, 2003.
A medical report issued by the New York medical examiner's office a year after his death showed that Atkins had a history of heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension. It also noted that he weighed 258 pounds (117 kilograms) at death, but Dr. Atkins weighed 195 pounds (88 kilograms) the day after he entered the hospital following his fall; he gained 63 pounds (29 kilograms) from fluid retention during the nine days he was in a coma before he died.
His widow refused to allow an autopsy.
Legacy
Atkins' work inspired a whole new tendency in dietetics, and many companies released low-carb diets and low-carb foods. After his death the popularity of Atkins' diet waned, with the other low-carb diets eroding its market share, and questions being raised about its safety. In 2005, his company Atkins Nutritionals filed for bankruptcy. It was subsequently purchased by North Castle Partners in 2007 and switched its emphasis to low-carb snacks. In 2010 the company was acquired by Roark Capital Group.