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Robert Atkins (nutritionist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Coleman Atkins, MD (October 17, 1930 in Columbus, Ohio
– April 17, 2003 in New York City
) was an American
physician and cardiologist, best known for the Atkins Nutritional Approach
(or "Atkins Diet"), a popular but controversial way of dieting
that entails close control of carbohydrate consumption, emphasizing protein and fat intake, including saturated fat in addition to leaf vegetables and dietary supplements.
, where his father owned restaurants. Atkins graduated from the University of Michigan
in 1951 and received a medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in 1955. He had internal medicine and cardiology residencies at hospitals affiliated with the University of Rochester
and Columbia University
, then specialized in cardiology
and complementary medicine
, opening an office in the Upper East Side
in New York in 1959. He married his wife Veronica when he was 56.
After suffering a cardiac arrest in April 2002, Atkins stated that it was due to a chronic infection, and Dr. Patrick Fratellone, Atkins' personal physician and cardiologist, concurred, saying "We have been treating this condition, cardiomyopathy
, for almost two years. Clearly, his own nutritional protocols have left him, at the age of 71, with an extraordinarily healthy cardiovascular system." According to CNN reports at the time, 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, said: "Despite the obvious irony, I believe there is a total disconnect between the cardiac arrest and the health approach he (Atkins) popularizes."
based on the work of Alfred W. Pennington and successfully lost weight by following it, which was repeated with 65 of his overweight patients. He appeared on the Tonight show in 1965, and his diet became known as the 'Vogue diet' after a 1970 Vogue article on it. He published Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972, which soon sold millions of copies.
He founded the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan
, which had 87 employees in the 1990s, and where he said he treated over 50,000 patients, and founded Atkins Nutritionals
in 1998 to promote his low-carbohydrate diet, with revenue of $100 million. He published Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution in 1992, which again became a best-seller.
Atkins suggested that "carbohydrate is the bad guy" through extensive research, that it causes the body to overproduce the hormone insulin
, a condition called hyperinsulinism
, which metabolizes blood glucose and thus makes people feel hungry.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
– April 17, 2003 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician and cardiologist, best known for the Atkins Nutritional Approach
Atkins Nutritional Approach
The Atkins diet, officially called the Atkins Nutritional Approach, is a low-carbohydrate diet created by Robert Atkins from a research paper he read in the Journal of the American Medical Association published by Gordon Azar and Walter Lyons Bloom. Atkins stated that he used the study to resolve...
(or "Atkins Diet"), a popular but controversial way of dieting
Dieting
Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases dieting is used in combination with physical exercise to lose weight in those who are overweight or obese. Some athletes, however, follow a diet to gain weight...
that entails close control of carbohydrate consumption, emphasizing protein and fat intake, including saturated fat in addition to leaf vegetables and dietary supplements.
Life
When Atkins was aged 12 his family moved to Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, where his father owned restaurants. Atkins graduated from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1951 and received a medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in 1955. He had internal medicine and cardiology residencies at hospitals affiliated with the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, then specialized in cardiology
Cardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
and complementary medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
, opening an office in the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
in New York in 1959. He married his wife Veronica when he was 56.
After suffering a cardiac arrest in April 2002, Atkins stated that it was due to a chronic infection, and Dr. Patrick Fratellone, Atkins' personal physician and cardiologist, concurred, saying "We have been treating this condition, cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy, which literally means "heart muscle disease," is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both. Cardiomyopathy can often go undetected, making it especially dangerous to...
, for almost two years. Clearly, his own nutritional protocols have left him, at the age of 71, with an extraordinarily healthy cardiovascular system." According to CNN reports at the time, 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, said: "Despite the obvious irony, I believe there is a total disconnect between the cardiac arrest and the health approach he (Atkins) popularizes."
Death
On April 8, 2003, at age 72, a day after a major snowstorm in New York, Atkins slipped on icy pavement, suffering severe head trauma. He spent nine days in intensive care, before dying on April 17, 2003 from complications from his head injury.Work
In 1963, when Atkins weighed 100 kg (224 pounds) due to a diet of junk food, he read "A New Concept in the Treatment of Obesity" by Edgar S. Gordon, Marshall Goldberg, and Grace J. Chosy, a study of a low-starch diet in the October 5, 1963 issue of JAMAJama
Jama or JAMA may refer to:* Jama Software, a privately held company in Portland, Oregon* Journal of the American Medical Association, an international peer-reviewed general medical journal...
based on the work of Alfred W. Pennington and successfully lost weight by following it, which was repeated with 65 of his overweight patients. He appeared on the Tonight show in 1965, and his diet became known as the 'Vogue diet' after a 1970 Vogue article on it. He published Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972, which soon sold millions of copies.
He founded the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, which had 87 employees in the 1990s, and where he said he treated over 50,000 patients, and founded Atkins Nutritionals
Atkins Nutritionals
Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. produces low-carbohydrate packaged foods. It is owned by Roark Capital Group.-History:The company was started in 1989 by Dr. Robert Atkins, the founder of the Atkins Diet. Following the death of its founder, a sale to Parthenon Capital and Goldman Sachs, and a reduction in...
in 1998 to promote his low-carbohydrate diet, with revenue of $100 million. He published Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution in 1992, which again became a best-seller.
Atkins suggested that "carbohydrate is the bad guy" through extensive research, that it causes the body to overproduce the hormone insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
, a condition called hyperinsulinism
Hyperinsulinism
Hyperinsulinism refers to an above normal level of insulin in the blood of a person or animal. Normal insulin secretion and blood levels are closely related to the level of glucose in the blood, so that a given level of insulin can be normal for one blood glucose level but low or high for another...
, which metabolizes blood glucose and thus makes people feel hungry.
Books
- Atkins, Robert C. The Essential Atkins for Life Kit: The Next Level Pan Macmillan, 2003. ISBN 0-330-43250-8
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Diet Planner M. Evans and Company, 2003 | Vermilion, 2003. ISBN 0-09-189877-3
- Atkins, Robert C. Atkins for Life: The Next Level New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. ISBN 1-4050-2110-1
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution New York: Avon Books, 2002. ISBN 0-06-001203-X. | Vermilion, 2003. ISBN 0-09-188948-0
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution M. Evans and Company, 2002.
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Age-Defying Diet St. Martin's Press, 2001, 2002
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature's Answers to Drugs Simon and Schuster, 1997
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Quick & Easy New Diet Cookbook Simon and Schuster, 1997
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter. New York: M. Evans and Company, 1996. ISBN 0-87131-815-6
- Atkins, Robert C, Gare, Fran Dr. Atkins' New Diet Cookbook M. Evans and Company, 1994 | Vermilion, 2003. ISBN 0-09-188946-4
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution M. Evans and Company, 1992
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Health Revolution Houghton Mifflin, 1988
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Nutrition Breakthrough Bantam, 1981
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' SuperEnergy Diet Cookbook Signet, 1978
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' SuperEnergy Diet Bantam, 1978
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Diet Cookbook Bantam, 1974
- Atkins, Robert C. Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution Bantam, 1972
External links
- Atkins Nutritionals
- Larry King interview
- BBC Obituary: Dr Robert Atkins 17 April 2003
- Snopes on Doctor Atkins' death
- The Smoking Gun on Robert Atkins Medical Examination
- Robert Atkins at Find-A-Grave