Dr Robert Atkins, who pioneered the popular but controversial low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, had a history of heart attack, and was clinically obese when he died in April last year, it was revealed yesterday, writes Conor O'Clery in New York
The diet guru who dedicated his life to solving obesity problems weighed 117 kilos (258lb) when he was killed in a fall on an icy footpath in New York, according to the post-mortem report published in the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
The report was given "in error" by the New York medical examiner's office to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates a vegetarian diet. The doctor's widow, Ms Veronica Atkins, accused "unscrupulous individuals" of trying to use her husband's history of heart disease to discredit his dietary regime.
In a statement expressing outrage at the release of the medical records, she said that Dr Atkins had been diagnosed with a heart condition known as cardiomyopathy about four years ago and had a cardiac arrest in April 2002, but that the condition was caused by a viral infection and his health problems "were completely unrelated to his diet or any diet".
The family refused permission for an autopsy, but handwritten comments on the medical report state that he had a history of myocardial infarction, or heart attack, which is generally caused by fats blocking coronary arteries, although heart failure can also be caused by viruses and infections.
He also suffered from congestive failure and hypertension.
Some 10 million Americans and several thousand people in Ireland are believed to follow the high-protein Atkins diet, which has been criticised by health groups for encouraging people to replace carbohydrates with fatty foods such as meat and cheese, putting them at greater risk of heart disease.
The Atkins website claims that it is "an amazing diet where you will never go hungry again yet still lose weight". It promises that most people will lose 10 to 30 pounds in the first month by eating all the meat, cheese, eggs and fats one likes while eliminating carbohydrates.
Dr Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council in New York, also said the doctor's heart problems were related to a disease of the heart muscle which could not be related to diet. His medical condition led to fluid retention and bloating, which would explain his weight, he said.
Rumours of Dr Atkins's obesity have been circulating in New York for months. In January, Mayor Michael Bloomberg described him as "fat" during a public event, and when Ms Atkins demanded an apology, he offered to buy her a steak lunch to make amends.