understanding the Atkins Diet
by Rachel Newcombe
scientific evidence
Amidst all the negative views, two recent scientific studies claim to back up the views of Dr Atkins and declare the diet 'safe and effective.' Both studies were carried out by teams of American scientists and were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Obese people took part and the Atkins Diet was compared to a low-fat method.
They found that the weight came off at a fast pace, but levelled off over six months or one year, and those on the Atkins Diet lost more weight than those on conventional low-fat diets. It's because of this finding that the researchers say the effectiveness of the diet is proved.
But health experts still aren't convinced and the studies themselves have been subject to criticism. Most notably, both studies were tiny – the first involved 132 people with only 79 managing to complete the six-months of dieting, and a mere 63 people took part in the second. They were also both very short – six months and one year respectively – so although they've given some insight into what happens on the diet in the short-term, the long-term health effects remain unclear.
(November 2003, resources updated March 2005)
