Ken Kubos
February 12th, 2004, 02:06 PM
Atkins diet centers on the green
By Alex Beam, Globe Columnist, 2/12/2004
When diet docs die, they certainly don't go quietly.
First there was Dr. Herman Tarnower, creator of the oh-so-passe Scarsdale
Diet, who was gunned down in his study by his irate lover. Now the late Dr.
Robert Atkins of lotsa-fat, low-carb fame has risen again, as it were, into
the public eye.
The ghoulish Atkins postmortem imbroglio reads like scenes from a Carl
Hiaasen novel. First, a physicians group devoted to promoting vegetarianism
(Is Prince Charles somehow involved? One can only hope) got hold of the
confidential medical examiner's report on Atkins's death. Next, they leaked
it to The Wall Street Journal, hyping the "heart attack angle." The
document, now available for all to read at thesmokinggun.com, mentions that
Atkins, who observed his own diet, had a history of myocardial infarction,
or heart attack.
This suggestion is hugely controversial, because Atkinoids have always
argued, counterintuitively, that their high-fat diet does not increase the
risk of heart attacks.
The Empire struck back. On the official Atkins website, atkins.com, Dr.
Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council, blasted the
"animal rights activists" for leaking the medical examiner's report, and for
publicizing Atkins's extreme obesity -- he was 6 feet tall and weighed 258
pounds -- at the time of his death. Atkins's weight ballooned as the result
of fluid retention after he was hospitalized for a fall that proved to be
fatal. In an interview with the Journal, Trager stressed that Atkins's heart
problems resulted from a disease of the heart muscle, not from his eating
habits.
Atkins's widow, Veronica, has posted a lengthy statement on the Atkins
website, imploring that her husband's soul be allowed to "rest in peace" so
that "I can grieve uninterrupted." "Is caring about what someone else eats
so important that some doctors are willing to betray their most basic of
oaths, to protect a patient's dignity and confidentiality?" she asked.
A vulgar, agenda-driven invasion of privacy? To be sure. An unnecessary and
ultimately irrelevant spectacle exploiting unknowable facts about a man 10
months in the grave? Yes. But let's not forget: This is not a battle over
ideas or public health. This is a dispute about money. Lots of money.
Dr. Atkins and his successors who manage the booming $200 million Atkins
Nutritionals business were not working for the betterment of mankind, to
borrow Mary Baker Eddy's phrase. They were working to sell diet books,
millions and millions of them, and specialized food products with the Atkins
label. "Atkins" is a registered trademark, and people pay to use it. Most
recently, the sandwich chain Subway and the fern bar/pickup joint T.G.I.
Friday's have signed partnerships to sell food with the Atkins "seal of
approval." The Atkins brand has power, and it uses that power to boost
profit margins.
Business Week has noted that Atkins charges $4.99 for a box of soybean-based
pasta, twice the price of wheat-based noodles, even though the ingredients
cost roughly the same. A Boston private equity company, Parthenon Capital,
now owns a majority of Atkins Nutritionals shares and has talked about
taking the rapidly growing firm public. "It is something we are
considering," says co-chief executive John Rutherford.
Remember: It's all about the green. And I don't mean broccoli
--
Ken
"I want to tell you about a school in Houston. It's a school for 'at risk'
children.
In other words, folks, these are children who can't learn."
- G.W. Bush, presidential debates
By Alex Beam, Globe Columnist, 2/12/2004
When diet docs die, they certainly don't go quietly.
First there was Dr. Herman Tarnower, creator of the oh-so-passe Scarsdale
Diet, who was gunned down in his study by his irate lover. Now the late Dr.
Robert Atkins of lotsa-fat, low-carb fame has risen again, as it were, into
the public eye.
The ghoulish Atkins postmortem imbroglio reads like scenes from a Carl
Hiaasen novel. First, a physicians group devoted to promoting vegetarianism
(Is Prince Charles somehow involved? One can only hope) got hold of the
confidential medical examiner's report on Atkins's death. Next, they leaked
it to The Wall Street Journal, hyping the "heart attack angle." The
document, now available for all to read at thesmokinggun.com, mentions that
Atkins, who observed his own diet, had a history of myocardial infarction,
or heart attack.
This suggestion is hugely controversial, because Atkinoids have always
argued, counterintuitively, that their high-fat diet does not increase the
risk of heart attacks.
The Empire struck back. On the official Atkins website, atkins.com, Dr.
Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council, blasted the
"animal rights activists" for leaking the medical examiner's report, and for
publicizing Atkins's extreme obesity -- he was 6 feet tall and weighed 258
pounds -- at the time of his death. Atkins's weight ballooned as the result
of fluid retention after he was hospitalized for a fall that proved to be
fatal. In an interview with the Journal, Trager stressed that Atkins's heart
problems resulted from a disease of the heart muscle, not from his eating
habits.
Atkins's widow, Veronica, has posted a lengthy statement on the Atkins
website, imploring that her husband's soul be allowed to "rest in peace" so
that "I can grieve uninterrupted." "Is caring about what someone else eats
so important that some doctors are willing to betray their most basic of
oaths, to protect a patient's dignity and confidentiality?" she asked.
A vulgar, agenda-driven invasion of privacy? To be sure. An unnecessary and
ultimately irrelevant spectacle exploiting unknowable facts about a man 10
months in the grave? Yes. But let's not forget: This is not a battle over
ideas or public health. This is a dispute about money. Lots of money.
Dr. Atkins and his successors who manage the booming $200 million Atkins
Nutritionals business were not working for the betterment of mankind, to
borrow Mary Baker Eddy's phrase. They were working to sell diet books,
millions and millions of them, and specialized food products with the Atkins
label. "Atkins" is a registered trademark, and people pay to use it. Most
recently, the sandwich chain Subway and the fern bar/pickup joint T.G.I.
Friday's have signed partnerships to sell food with the Atkins "seal of
approval." The Atkins brand has power, and it uses that power to boost
profit margins.
Business Week has noted that Atkins charges $4.99 for a box of soybean-based
pasta, twice the price of wheat-based noodles, even though the ingredients
cost roughly the same. A Boston private equity company, Parthenon Capital,
now owns a majority of Atkins Nutritionals shares and has talked about
taking the rapidly growing firm public. "It is something we are
considering," says co-chief executive John Rutherford.
Remember: It's all about the green. And I don't mean broccoli
--
Ken
"I want to tell you about a school in Houston. It's a school for 'at risk'
children.
In other words, folks, these are children who can't learn."
- G.W. Bush, presidential debates