Atkins died a fat man

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 10 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Dr. Atkins, the founder of the Atkins diet was apparently obese when he died (aged 72).

His diet, called the Atkins Diet, has become very popular. It is based on low carbohydrates of slow release (of sugars), and higher in protein and fats than most other diets.

Dr. Atkins, when he died, weighed 258 pounds. He was 6 foot tall. With these figures he would be classified as obese.

Dr. Atkins died as the result of injuries he sustained from a fall (he slipped when walking on an icy street).

Before his death he had a history of heart disease.

His widow said that his heart condition was due to a viral infection.

'I have been assured by my husband's physicians that my husband's health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet or any diet,' Mrs. Atkins said. 'My husband's death resulted from a serious head injury.'

Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council in New York, said that Dr. Atkins bloating was due to a condition he had. He said that for most of his life Dr. Atkins was a slim man.