Obituary: Robert Atkins

Weight-loss guru. Died aged 72.

Robert Atkins' diet books have dominated the bestseller lists for 30 years.

To the distress of the medical establishment, but to the pleasure of his many fans, including Hollywood actresses Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox Arquette, Dr Atkins made his fortune from his high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that emphasised meat, eggs and cheese and discouraged bread, rice and fruit.

His first foray into the weight loss industry with his 1972 book Dr Atkins' Diet Revolution earned him a reprimand from the American Medical Association which dismissed it as "potentially dangerous", "naive" and "scientifically incorrect". The public demonstrated what they preferred to believe by buying 15 million copies of his books.

His controversial nutritional theory enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

But criticism of the diet lingered, with many arguing that it could affect kidney function, raise cholesterol levels and deprive the dieter of important nutrients. However, what mattered to users was that they lost weight.

Atkins died after slipping and banging his head on an icy New York pavement.

- INDEPENDENT