Atkins widow furious at fat claim

Atkins weighed 116kg when he died last year

The widow of Robert Atkins has strongly condemned the leak of a report saying the diet guru was obese when he died.

Veronica Atkins accused "dishonest individuals" of seeking "not only to discredit my husband's work but to profit from his death".

Atkins died aged 72 in New York last April after slipping and hitting his head on an icy pavement.

A medical report leaked to the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said he weighed 116kg at the time of his death.

Given that he was 1.8m tall, that would make him medically obese under US guidelines.

But Veronica Atkins said in a statement published on the Atkins website that the late doctor's diet had not led to health problems.

"Dr Atkins developed a condition called cardiomyopathy approximately three years prior to his death... Though his condition significantly weakened his heart, its cause was clearly related to an infection and not his diet," she said.

Diets need to be varied to protect against these conditions - and this one isn't British Heart Foundation

She denied reports that Atkins had a heart attack.

The controversial Atkins diet recommends high protein intake and few carbohydrates.

It has gained a number of high-profile celebrity supporters.

But the British Heart Foundation has warned against the diet.

"There is strong evidence that diets that are high in saturated fat contribute to various diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Diets need to be varied to protect against these conditions - and this one isn't," the foundation said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal article is based on a confidential New York Medical Examiner's report made at the time of Atkins' death last year.

It claims he had a heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension in the run-up to his death.

The medical report was apparently released in error to a doctor who did not treat Atkins.

Revolutionary

Atkins made his name with his book "Dr Atkins Diet Revolution" in the early 1970s.

The American Medical Association dismissed his diet as nutritional folly, saying it was "potentially dangerous" and "biochemically incorrect", and he was summoned to Capitol Hill to defend the plan.

Despite the controversy, his book sold millions worldwide and his philosophy enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with a new book, "Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution".

Atkins had a cardiac arrest in April 2002 but put out a statement saying it was "in no way related to diet".