More fat on the fire in Atkins diet row: founder weighed 18 stone at death

He made a fortune by telling millions of people how to lose weight without cutting out their bacon and eggs. But yesterday it emerged that Dr Robert Atkins, pioneer of the controversial low-carb regime, was clinically obese when he died.

Medical records have revealed that the 72-year-old weighed 18 stone when he slipped and suffered fatal head injuries on an icy footpath in New York last April.

He was also suffering from heart disease, according to a leaked report by the New York City medical examiner's office.

Details of Dr Atkins's state of health were obtained by the American lobby group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) which has long objected to the regime promoted by the diet guru.

The committee passed the report to the Wall Street Journal, which reproduced details yesterday showing that the 6ft tall doctor weighed 18 stone at the time of his death.

Using the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations for obesity, Dr Atkins had a BMI score of 34, making him clinically obese.

Normal weight is classed as a BMI of 20 to 25; more than 25 is considered overweight and over 30 is obese.

The report also revealed that the diet author had a history of heart trouble, congestive heart failure and hypertension.

Millions of people who have bought Dr Atkins's book, cut out the carbs and dutifully munched their way through pounds of steak may now enter a crisis of faith about the regime.

However, the revelations triggered a furious response from Dr Atkins's widow, Veronica. She accused "unscrupulous individuals" of trying to destroy her late husband's reputation by stealing his medical records.

Dr Atkins had admitted having the heart condition cardiomyopathy, which his doctors claimed was caused by a viral infection rather than his diet.

The condition had led to fluid retention and bloating, which caused him to put on weight, according to Dr Stuart Trager, an expert with the Atkins company.

Dr Atkins died nine days after his accident when his family took the decision to switch off his life support machine.

They refused to allow a full post-mortem examination but a medical examiner conducted an "external examination" based on hospital records. The cause of death was recorded as "blunt impact injury of the head".

In a two-page statement released last night, Mrs Atkins said: "I have been assured by my husband's physicians that his health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet or any diet.

"It is time to forget the myths and urban legends perpetuated by extremists like those who have acted unethically in disclosing my husband's records, and pay more attention to the real issues and all available peer-reviewed science."

She claimed that 18 studies had supported the Atkins theory over the past three years.

The Atkins diet has become a quasi-religion for many, yet divided the medical community like nothing else in recent years.

Its central tenet is that the body finds it harder to burn fat and protein than it does carbohydrates. Therefore, by cutting out carbs, the body has to turn to its fat stores for energy, and thus people lose weight faster and more effectively than with other diets.

More than two million people in Britain have followed the diet, with its popularity still increasing after the author died.

The food industry has also seen the "Atkins Effect", with a slump in potato sales (a diet no-no) and soaring fortunes for protein-rich products such as steak.

But many dieticians and doctors have criticised the Atkins regime, damning it as "pseudo science" and warning that it could lead to heart and kidney problems because it does not offer a balanced diet.

Many tales of celebrities collapsing after following the diet have only added to the furore.

But, the fact is the Atkins Diet Revolution remains a diet book bestseller, and the company launched its range of cereal bars and milk drinks in Britain last year.

The company has remained a private business, run by a small circle of Dr Atkins's trusted confidants and colleagues but is thought to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

And now, even months after his death, the doctor is still managing to create controversy. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office said the report on Dr Atkins's state of health was sent "in error" to the PCRM this week.

But the error could scarcely have been worse - the PCRM is the most vocal critic of the Atkins diet. The committee advocates a vegetarian regime, in stark contrast to Dr Atkins.

A BBC Horizon programme screened last month revealed that the basis of the Atkins diet may also be wrong. Rather than the body burning fat differently, the success of the diet may be because of the fact that protein acts as an appetite suppressant, according to experts from Duke University in North Carolina.