Atkins bosses defend methods
Fay Burstin
16mar04

THE Atkins empire yesterday reacted angrily to a state plan to discourage Victorians from using its diet, accusing Health Minister Bronwyn Pike of failing to do her homework.

Atkins Physicians Council chairman Dr Stuart Trager, speaking from New York, told the Herald Sun he was surprised and disappointed with the Government's campaign to discredit the popular low-carbohydrate diet.

"There have been some impulsive reactions . . . and I think we've lost track of the enemy," he said.

"It's important to remember that the enemy is obesity, not low-carbohydrate nutrition."

The Herald Sun yesterday revealed the Victorian Government's plan for a taxpayer-funded campaign, including distributing posters and information booklets to doctors waiting rooms, gyms and universities, to persuade overweight people to quit the controversial Atkins diet.

Ms Pike said she believed health risks associated with the low-carb, high-protein and high-fat diet included heart disease, cancer, depression and osteoporosis.

The late Dr Robert Atkins's book sold more than 100,000 copies in Australia last year, and up to 200,000 Victorians are estimated to have embraced low-carb eating plans in their battle with the bulge.

Dr Trager denied Atkins's weight-loss plan was a "fad diet" or unhealthy, and said 19 independent studies in the past three years found the diet to be safe and effective.

"As knowledge improves and misconceptions are cleared up, I'm confident the community will react in Australia as it has in the US, where millions of people now use a carbohydrate-controlled diet to win the battle against obesity," he said.

Dr Trager said this was the first time in the diet's 32-year history that a government had launched a public health campaign against it.

"US Federal Government officials had a much more positive response and I hope that when they (the Victorian Government) dig deeper they will reconsider their campaign," he said.

Australian Medical Association federal president Dr Bill Glasson backed the Government's move yesterday and urged other states to follow Victoria's lead.

Atkins Nutritional Inc hired Melbourne public relations company Wrights yesterday to handle the controversy.

Steven Hines, whose GNC Livewell health food stores sell Atkins's products, said the outraged diet company called an emergency meeting with Ms Pike yesterday.

"Not one Australian has died from following Atkins, but 8000 Australians die every year from weight problems," he said.

Ms Pike's spokesman, Ben Hart, said input from the Atkins company was welcome, but research from the CSIRO, the Australian Heart Foundation and other respected health organisations was relied upon to show the dangers of a low-carb diet.