"Even In Death, Atkins Stirs Conflict"
 

From Newark, NJ Star-Ledger:

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index...48364987090.xml

Even in death, Atkins stirs conflict

Advocates dispute claim that medical records show diet guru was obese


Wednesday, February 11, 2004


BY CAROL ANN CAMPBELL
Star-Ledger Staff

The diet doctor who changed the way Americans look at a slice of bread either was obese at the time of his death or else he was swollen from fluid retention after two weeks in a coma.

The death of Robert C. Atkins has become as controversial as his life's work.

A medical record obtained by a vegetarian group that has long opposed the Atkins meat-heavy diet shows the doctor who pushed Americans away from potatoes and pastas weighed 258 pounds when he died last April.

The figure would make him obese under federal guidelines. The record, first reported yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, also shows that Atkins had a history of congestive heart failure and high blood pressure.

Atkins supporters claim the information is being distorted. The 72-year-old doctor was severely injured in a fall last year, and supporters say he gained 60 pounds of fluid during the two weeks he spent in a coma before he died.

"During his coma, as he deteriorated and his major organs failed, fluid retention and bloating dramatically distorted his body and left him at 258 pounds at the time of his death, a documented weight gain of over 60 pounds," Stuart Trager, chair of the Atkins Physicians Council, said in a statement released yesterday. Trager said the 6-foot-tall doctor's weight averaged between 180 and 195 pounds before his injury.

The Atkins diet, heavy on meat, cheese, fish, eggs and chicken, has attracted ferocious criticism from those who say it is not healthy.

John McDougall, an internist and member of Atkins-diet opponents Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, faxed a copy of the doctor's confidential medical record to The Star-Ledger. The record, produced by the New York City Medical Examiner, is called a Report of External Examination. It puts Atkins's weight at 258 pounds at the time of his death.

McDougall said it is "highly unlikely" that Atkins could have gained 60 pounds during his coma. "He was an unhealthy fat man. There was no denying it. I met him on several occasions," said McDougall. "He was grossly overweight through most of his recent adult life." He suggested the doctor's heart troubles may have stemmed from the meat-laden diet.

Atkins supporters disagree. They said his heart troubles, or cardiomyopathy, stemmed from an infection, not from clogged arteries.

Followers of the Atkins diet obtain two-thirds of their calories from fat, which is twice the usual amount recommended by nutritionists. Many fervently believe in the Atkins method. His diet books have sold more than 15 million copies, and his theories about low carbohydrates have influenced restaurant menus and, more recently, new lines of manufactured foods.

The confidential medical document was obtained by a Nebraska physician, Richard Max Fleming of Omaha, according to Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the New York City Medical Examiner's Office. Borakove said the doctor wrote a letter requesting the document and the office mistakenly sent it, even though Fleming was not the treating physician.

The document is stamped "confidential." Her office has reported the incident to the Nebraska Health Department and apologized to Veronica Atkins, the doctor's widow.

Fleming did not respond to two messages left on answering machines yesterday.

McDougall declined to comment on the ethics of disseminating confidential medical information. However, he said, "If you make yourself a public figure, you are open to criticism and inspection."

Health experts continue to debate Atkins.

"He had part of the truth. High carbs are not good. But he threw out the good carbs: the fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains," said Kenneth J. Storch, director of medical nutrition for Morristown Memorial Hospital.

Will news of the doctor's medical records affect the low-carb movement?

"It has the potential to greatly damage the brand, as well as the movement," said Laura Ries, a marketing strategist in Atlanta who specializes in corporate name recognition.

Not everyone agrees.

"Those fully on board with Atkins will probably not be impacted," said Bob Hilarides, a partner at Cannondale Associates in Evanston, Ill., a consulting company focusing on the grocery industry.



Carol Ann Campbell covers medicine. She may be reached at ccamp bell~starledger.com or (973) 392-4148