This is a copy of an article in The Daily Mail on Monday August 4th 2003.

The huge success of the Atkins Diet means more Britons are eating fatty foods rather than those rich in carbohydrates.

Sales of red meat are back to the levels of the early 1990's while demand for bread is on the slide.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are trying the diet, which allows them to eat as much meat, fish, eggs and cheese as they want but insists they cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and fruit.

Dr Robert Atkins's book is only beaten in the bestseller lists by the latest Harry Potter. The updated edition is selling more than 120,000 copies a month.

Retailers and manufacturers are feeling the effect of the Atkins craze. Last week, Unilever blamed the diet's popularity for poor sales of its diet product Slim-Fast.

Federation of Bakers director John White said yesterdsay that bread sales have fallen by between 1.5 per cent and 2 per cent for the last three years.

"One can speculate as to the reasons about that but personally I have no doubt Atkins has had an impact," he said.

The federation published a report earlier this year which claimed 23 per cent of the 25 to 33-year-olds and 22 per cent of all women were actively limiting consumption of starch and carbohydrates because they believed them "unhealthy".

The Meat and Livestock Commission said red meat sales were back to the levels seen before the BSE scare of the late 1990's.

Tesco and Sainsbury's have both reported an increase but said the regained confidence in British meat was a more significant factor than the Atkins Diet.

Atkins becomes popular, red meat sales boost

The Atkins diet encourages people to cut down on carbohydrates and eat dairy products, meat and fish.

link to article

08/05/2003

Britain is becoming a nation of red meat eaters once again as growing numbers of people turn to the steak and sausages demanded by the Atkins diet, the latest food craze to sweep the country.

Sales of red meat are at their highest levels ever despite the BSE scare of the 1990s and decades of health promotion campaigns trying to persuade consumers to eat less.

The Atkins diet, invented in the 1970s by the late Robert C Atkins, a New York cardiologist, encourages people to cut down on carbohydrates and eat dairy products, meat and fish.

Last week the Meat and Livestock Commission revealed that total meat consumption in Britain was 4.3m tons last year, an increase of 10% since the height of the BSE crisis in 1996. Sales of red meat, including bacon, a staple of the Atkins diet, were up 11% over the same period.

Waitrose said it had seen a 16% increase in meat sales over the past year while potatoes, rice and pasta had stayed on the shelves. Both Tesco and Safeway have also reported higher sales of meat. Last week Unilever, the food manufacturing giant, attributed a fall in profits for its Slim.Fast weight-loss product to the popularity of the Atkins diet.

Now Atkins Nutritionals, which had a turnover of £60m last year, is negotiating with British supermarkets to introduce its own range of products which offer low-carb versions of bread, crisps, cakes, chocolate biscuits and peanut butter.

The Atkins diet has already become a marketing phenomenon in America. Atkins own-brand products are already on sale in America. They include low-carb bread made from corn starch instead of flour, and inulin, a natural extract of chicory root which adds fibre and body to the bread. Although touted as the “best thing since sliced bread”, Atkins has had to resort to natural and artificial flavouring to make it taste like the traditional product.

The company has also produced treats such as Atkins Endulge chocolate bars, with a choice of peanut butter cups or caramel nut chew. “Now, cutting back on sugar and other carbs has never tasted so good or been so easy,” says its promotional material.

One of the reasons for Atkins’s success has been its appeal to men, who traditionally steer clear of diet fads.

I can't really say I'm surprised. I know which one I'd rather eat.



About time too!!