Report: Atkins was obese, had heart disease

[JCMach1]

(AP) - Dr. Robert Atkins, whose popular diet stresses protein-rich meat and cheese over carbohydrates, weighed 258 pounds at his death and had a history of heart disease, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Atkins died last April at age 72 after being injured in a fall on an icy street. Before his death, he had suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension...
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=health&cat=diet_and_nutrition

:spank:

[Greylady]

1. Dr. Phil

is fat too.

[lazarus]

2. From the article

"Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council in New York, told the Journal that Atkins' heart disease stemmed from cardiomyopathy, a condition thought to result from a viral infection.

Atkins' weight was due to bloating associated with his condition, and he had been much slimmer during most of his life, Trager said.

The medical examiner's report was given to the Journal by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates vegetarianism. The medical examiner's office told the Journal that the report had been sent to the group in error. "

[beyurslf]

3. He w as 72.

He was on his "diet" since the 1960's. If it was so bad for him that it was going to kill him, why did it take 40+ years?

That's like saying a 70yo vegetarian who hadn't meat animal by products in 40 years died because he was not getting enough protien.

[supernova]

4. Cardiomyopathy is a complex disease

and has a variety of aspects to it, including some which can kill young athletes.

Often the cause is described as "idiopathic", i.e. the cause is unknown. In a certain few cases, the cause can be traced to heredity. Cardiomyopathy does clump in families.

It can strike young or old; the age of onset is indiscriminant.

So, unless you know the intimate details of Dr Atkins history, his family history, JCMach1, you cannot state with certainty that his Cardiomyopathy had anything to do with his eating patterns.

Shame on you JCMac1 for carelessly pronouncing a cause/effect where one cannot be established.

:spank:

edit: Further, Dr. Atkins died from the complications of an unfortunate fall, not his cardiomyopathy. So again, :spank:

[Deja Q]

5. Well, if that isn't the ultimate "this is why you don't do his diet"...

then people will blindly continue rotting their innards for this farcical lie that'$ only getting his estate richer and themselves poorer (and dumber).

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/7925412.htm has more (2/11).

Moderation and exercise.

No pill will help overweightedness.
No silly diet that forces you to avoid legitimately good food groups. (okay, simple carbs are bad. Complex carbs are good. Whole grain/wheat bread/rice is good. Processed/bleched bread/rice is awful. This stuff isn't evil. People telling you to avoid the fiber in favor of 1200 calorie 50 gram fat meals IS.)

I could care less if the dude jumped out of an airplane and forgot to wear his parachute. Any doctor with the degree will tell you that high cholesterol is going to be BAD. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD.

[NicoleM]

6. Are you aware

that there is a huge flamewar over this in LBN?

[stopbush]

7. So, let's see...

He fell on the ice and went into a coma. He was admitted to the hospital at a weight of 195 lbs. Then, he's put on intravenous fluids, his organs begin to fail and he gains 60 lbs in water weight in 8 days (ie: effing intravenous fluids), so they pull the plug.

It should be obvious to all: he died because they took him off the Atkins diet, loaded him up with effing hospitals fluids and killed him in a week.

How in any way does his weight at death show that there's anything wrong with his diet? Or that he was "obese" at his death? If they had amputated a few limbs, would that have proved that the Atkins diets turned you into a paraplegic?

What crap.