BRATKINS DIET

By AMIT SRIVASTAVA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

February 25, 2004 -- Call it Atkins Jr.
The company - accused by critics of promoting an unhealthy low-carb, high-fat diet that may cause heart disease in adults - is now targeting your kid.

The firm has issued its own plan to combat America's child obesity crisis: less TV, less processed foods, exercising for at least an hour a day - and cutting carbs like sugars, grains, fruits and some vegetables.

"We're not suggesting that every kid should be put on a controlled carb diet - but it may be appropriate for some," said Henry Engleka, spokesman for Atkins Nutritionals Inc. "New science suggests carb awareness may be as effective for some kids as lowering fats or counting calories."

The company has announced its seven-point plan for child obesity to support state Assemblyman Felix Ortiz's childhood obesity prevention program.

It controversially suggests it will work with educators and health professionals to change the carb-based "food pyramid," taught to generations of American kids as a way to promote good diet. The pyramid is backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"We have issued a changed food pyramid for adults - it may be that we need to release a changed food pyramid for kids," Engleka said.

The Atkins pyramid is famously based on eating lots of protein, such as meat and fish.

However, diet experts have reacted with alarm at the idea that kids might benefit from an adult-style Atkins diet.

"People are in trouble not because they are eating the [traditional food] pyramid but because they are not," Dr. Keith Ayoob, spokesman for the American Dietetic Association and associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx.

"Many high-protein foods are also high in saturated fats. If the diet involves more saturated fat for kids, I have serious concerns."

There has been growing concern about the epidemic of child obesity. Nationwide, approximately 30 percent of children - ages 6-19 - are overweight and 15 percent are obese.

Ayoob accused the Atkins company of "jumping on the bandwagon" of Ortiz's legislation to combat the problem. He said parents who adopted the Atkins regime would be ignoring diets with proven health benefits.

"High-carb diets have stood the test of time," he said, though he added it was vital to eat the right sorts of carbs. "There is a mountain of evidence encouraging kids to eat more fruit, vegetables and whole-grain foods."

Source: http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/18961.htm