Atkins Diet
America is increasingly being labeled as an 'obese nation' with more than 31% of adults and 17% of children currently falling in the seriously overweight category. [CS News]. Overweight condition is by itself a risk factor for diabetes, arthritis, heart diseases, and many other complications. Over the last two decades there has been increasing awareness about diet and weight management. Among the many 'low carb' diet programs 'Atkins diet' formula is a popular choice. Formulated by Dr. Atkins in the 1970's this new 'low carb' program has stirred a diet revolution in the nation. Let us discuss in detail the diet plan, its impact on the metabolic system and its acceptability in the long run.

Atkins Philosophy

The underlying principle of Atkins program is that by means of a diet having low carbohydrates it is possible to induce lyposis/ketosis as an alternative to glucose metabolism. Atkins diet formula is based on…...

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Bibliography

1) Kathy Goodwin, " The Atkins Diet: A Comprehensive Analysis,"

Accessed on 6th December 2004,

 http://www.thedietchannel.com/atkins.htm 

2) Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., "What is Atkins Nutritional Approach," Accessed on 6th December 2004,

low-carbohydrate Atkins diet is safe and effective in the short-term. Today, millions of Americans follow the Atkins diet, making questions of safety and effectiveness increasingly important. In controlled studies, those on the Atkins diet lost more weight, had bigger increases in heart-friendly HDL cholesterol and had larger decreases in triglyceride levels when compared to dieters on a "normal" diet. Despite the diet's clear short-term success, the long-term effectiveness and safety of the diet have not been conclusively established, although a diet that combines the traditional Atkins diet with low fat may help to reduce some of these potential risks. Overall, the Atkins diet seems to be an effective way to shed pounds, at least in the short-term. The Atkins diet may provide an effective and safe means to improve health, even when potential concerns about the diet are contrasted against the documented and well-known dangers of obesity.
The Atkins Diet

The…...

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References

Atkins, Robert C. (2001). Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution. Avon Books.

BBC. (2003). Celebrity diet 'safe and effective'. BBC News, UK Edition, Thursday, 22 May, 2003, 09:36 GMT 10:36 UK. Retrieved June 17, 2004 at  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3044689.stm 

CNN.com. (2004, March). Low-carbohydrate diets: Are they safe and effective? Health Library, March 16, 2004. From MayoClinic.com, Special to CNN.com. Retrieved June 17, 2004 at http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/00268.html

Cohen, Marisa. 2004. The Atkins Diet. Essence, vol. 35, issue 12, p. 104.

Marketing of Atkins Diet Products in Europe vs. The U.S.
Background on Atkins Diet

(A) Who was obert Atkins?

Atkins was born in Columbus, in the state of Ohio in the year 1930. After having joined the University of Michigan, he graduated with a Major in Pre-meds, after which Atkins received his Medical Degree in the year 1955 from the Cornell University Medical School. By the year 1959, he had finished his residencies at both ochester and Columbia Universities, and also at St. Luke's Hospital at New York. Equipped with the experiences gained from the residencies, Dr. Atkins was able to start his private practice at New York City in the year 1960. It was in the year 1963 that he began to conduct a lot of research and also formalize his findings on the subject of 'controlled carbohydrate intake', as based on a series of articles that appeared in the Journal of…...

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References

All Info about Diets and Nutrition. Available at Accessed on 11 October, 2004http://dietsnutrition.allinfoabout.com/features/atkins.html

Atkins Diet safety record slammed. Food and Drink Europe Report. 24 November, 2004. Available at   Accessed on 12 October, 2004http://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com/news/news-ng.asp?id=26178-atkins-diet-safety 

Atkins' Nutritional Centers. Available at   Accessed on 11 October, 2004http://www.google.co.in/search?q=cache:FkFFjKX6rgkJ:www.filenet.com/English/Success_Stories/Global -

Atkins Nutritionals. Available at   Accessed on 11 October, 2004http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/21-267286.html 

LOW FAT DIETS ARE HEALTHIER THAN THE ATKIN'S DIET
The philosophy behind so-called "low cab" diets such as the Atkins Diet is that obesity is pimaily the esult consuming too many cabohydates, and that the taditional medical focus on loweing fat intake is patly to blame fo obesity in the United States. The theoy undelying the Atkins Diet philosophy is that cabohydate consumption stimulates elevated insulin levels in accodance with thei elative position on the "Glycemic Index" familia to diabetics. Accoding to Atkins, the ecent ise in obesity in the United States is patly the esult of govenmental advice to minimize high-fat foods in favo of cabohydates (Atkins, 1999).

The mechanism employed by the Atkins pogam elies on stimulating a natual condition known as ketosis by atificially povoking an evolutionay adaptive esponse that was oiginally designed to potect us fom stavation in times of scacity. Atkins accomplishes this by damatically esticting cabohydates,…...

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references devoid of critical review or any consideration of counterarguments.

2. Blackburn GL. Making Good Decisions About Diet: Weight Loss Is Not Weight Maintenance. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine 69:864-866, 2002.

Peer reviewed medical journal. Highlights the important distinction between short-term weight loss and long-term maintenance as the only genuine measure of efficacy in dietary changes intended to achieve weight loss.

3. Bravata, DM, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Low-Carbohydrate Diets: A Systematic Review. JAMA 289:1837-1850, 2003.

One of the most highly recognized, respected and distinguished peer reviewed medical journals. Suggests some of the experimental and statistical inadequacies of earlier research purported to support Atkins Diet theory.

Dieting Factors
Americans spend billions of dollars on weight-loss products and programs every year. Despite this, most people do not lose the amount they would like or, if they do, regain the weight after a short period of time. The problem lies with following specific fads that emphasize one type of eating pattern. The low-carbohydrate diet, which has been popular off-and-on-again since the mid-1800s, exemplifies such a diet program. Studies do show that the low-carbohydrate diet can offer some benefits, but over the long-term does not offer any more advantages than any other diet. Other factors, such as adherence to the diet and lifestyle are more important to the equation.

Americans spent approximately $60 billion in 2009 on weight loss products and programs, including so-called "special" diet foods, appetite suppressants, diet books, exercise memberships, workout videos, and stomach-clamping surgery (World Health Organization, 2010). Yet obesity, especially among children and youth, continues to…...

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References

Dansinger, ML, Gleason, J., Griffith, J.L., Selker, H.P., & Schaefer, E.J. (2005) Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction. A Randomized Trial JAMA. 293:43-53.

Hellmich, N. Success of Atkins diet is in the calories. USA Today

Foster, G.D. et al. (2003) A multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of a low-carbohydrate diet for obesity. New England Journal of Medicine 348:2082-2090

Lecture material from course.

In most of the studies, low carb and low fat dieters have been compared. In one of these studies, two groups of people were chosen. One of these groups was given the low fat diet and the other group was given the low carb diet. Exercise routines were designed for these groups. In the end of the study that was carried out for a period of two years, it was found that the same amount of weight was lost by the two groups and, health parameters in the two groups were the same. Most of the studies have shown that there could be a greater degree of weight loss in the first 3 to 6 months of using low carb diets. Nevertheless, after some months, there are no differences in the weight. Calories are the most important factor in the case of these two kinds of diets.
esults

Most of the…...

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References

D'Arrigo, T. (2007). "Low-fat vs. low-carb. What really works?" Diabetes Forecast 60(7):16.

Flynn, Mary. Low-Fat Lies: High Fat Frauds and the Healthiest Diet in the World. Regnery Publishing, 2000.

Kim, J.Y., Yang, Y.H., Kim, C.N., Lee, C.E., and Kim, K.I. (2008). "Effects of very-low-carbohydrate (horsemeat- or beef-based) diets and restricted feeding on weight gain, feed and energy efficiency, as well as serum levels of cholesterol, triacylglycerol, glucose, insulin and ketone bodies in adult rats." Ann Nutr Metab.53 (3-4):260-7.

Lutz, Wolfgang., Allen, Christian., and Allan, B. Christian. Life Without Bread: How a Low Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2000.

Therefore, the only value of a diet is in its capacity to be maintained over the course of a lifetime; otherwise there is no point to it.
Nutritional Plan

To lose excess body weight and maintain a healthy weight and body composition without excess fat over the long-term, the nutrition plan must eliminate fats of all kinds as much as possible as well as simple carbohydrates. Both fats and simple carbohydrates are readily converted to body fat if calorie consumption exceeds calorie expenditure. With respect to body weight issues, all sources of fat (i.e. both "good" fats and "bad" or saturated fats) are equally problematic. Meanwhile, complex carbohydrates need not be avoided or substantially restricted. Whereas simple carbohydrates (such as sugars, white flour, regular pasta, white rice, white potatoes, and some fruits) are easily converted into blood sugar and then stored as body fat, complex carbohydrates (such as dark wheat, semolina…...

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Source Consulted

Larson-Duyff, R. (2007). American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition

Guide. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.

In fact, Dr. Atkins himself died suddenly some years ago, and while his public relations machine attributed his death to brain damage from a fall, the rumor has it that he had a massive heart attack, likely brought on by his own diet program (Miller, et al., 2000).
Scientific Understanding elevant to the Issue

Approaching an exploration of the scientific knowledge that could be relevant to the low carb issue immediately opens up a heated debate, with low carb advocates pitted against those who feel that the alternative to low carb is more harmful than an few extra pounds from eating carbohydrates themselves. This being said, there are some areas of scientific knowledge which could help in the issue.

Admittedly easier said than done, the ability to understand once and for all if high protein diets, beyond the weight loss, are in fact safe would be very useful in enabling the individual…...

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References

Cetron, M.J., & Davies, O. (2005, March/April). Trends Now Shaping the Future: Economic, Societal, and Environmental Trends. The Futurist, 39, 27

Gabel, K.A., & Lund, R.J. (2002). Weight Loss at a Cost: Implications of High-Protein, Low-Carbohydrate Diets. JOPERD -- the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 73(2), 18+.

The Low-Carb Craze. (2004, October). Ebony, 59, 74+.

Miller, H.I., & Longtin, D. (2000). Death by Dietary Supplement. 15.

That means teaching dieters the difference between complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates, for example, instead of prescribing a nearly complete moratorium on all types of carbohydrates in the manner of the very popular Atkins Diet (Larson-Duyff, 2002).
The Atkins Diet has proven extremely successful over the short-term because it allows dieters to satisfy food cravings associated with severe carbohydrate restrictions by consuming high-fat foods. However, according to several studies, that approach is impractical with respect to long-term weight maintenance by virtue of the eventual increase in cravings for the restricted food types, such as carbohydrates in the case of the Atkins Diet (Sizer & Whitney, 2003). Therefore, the preferred approach emphasizes understanding the difference between so-called "good" (i.e. complex) carbohydrates and so-called "bad" (i.e. simple) carbohydrates that enables the dieter to restrict only the portion of those types of carbohydrates most responsible for unwanted weight gain. This approach offers comparable…...

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References

Baldauf, S. (2008). Too Fat? No More Excuses: Research Is Revealing How Very Damaging Extra Baggage Is. U.S. News & World Report. Jan 14/08 (pp. 57-61)

Larson-Duyff, R. (2002). American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. Hoboken: Wiley & Sons.

Sizer, F., Whitney, E. (2003). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson.

Nutrigenomics is an important field of study. It finds in roots in modern times, because of the direct relation to advances in science and technology. Nutrigenomics also straddles the nature vs. nurture divide. The publication of the relatively preliminary results of the Human Genome has given greater impetus to the idea of Nutrigenomics. One might assuredly say that the publication of the Human Genome is preliminary because the current versions of the genome are merely representatives of a very select group of individuals. (Lander et al., 2001; Venter et al., 2001) What makes individuals unique of course is the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs. It is these SNPs that give each of us our individuality. Hence each individual's genome is his or her genotype. A genotype is an individual's genome -- the genetic coding that identifies the character traits that govern existence. In the context of Nutrigenomics, a…...

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Bibliography

Antshel, K.M., & Waisbren, S.E. (2003). Timing is everything: executive functions in children exposed to elevated levels of phenylalanine. Neuropsychology, 17(3), 458-468.

Arn, P.H. (2003). Galactosemia. Curr Treat Options Neurol, 5(4), 343-345.

Buttke, T.M., & Sandstrom, P.A. (1995). Redox regulation of programmed cell death in lymphocytes. Free Radic Res, 22(5), 389-397.

Collins, F.S., Guyer, M.S., & Charkravarti, A. (1997). Variations on a theme: cataloging human DNA sequence variation. Science, 278(5343), 1580-1581.

com, 2009).
Date of Research 4 / / 09 -- Authoritative Web Sites:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2009) The Surgeon General's

Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Retrieved April

22, 2009 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration public website, at:

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/

National Institutes of Health (2008) NIH Obesity Research. Retrieved April 22,

2009 from the National Institutes of Health public website, at:

http://obesityresearch.nih.gov/

The main thrust of the two government websites is the direct link between overweight and obesity and numerous diseases such as diabetes and various cardiac, circulatory system, and other serious diseases. According to the sources, overweight and obesity is increasing at nearly epidemic proportions in the U.S., and even includes

children of whom a very high percentage are clinically overweight and at risk of lifelong obesity (HHS, 2009; NIH, 2008). Both the U.S. Surgeon General and the National

Institutes of Health recommend against popular fad diets and suggest that dieters…...

Jenny Craig stresses its ease of fitting into a busy lifestyle, as the food is pre-prepared, and also its healthful balance. It is not low-carb and does it entirely cut out sweets and indulgent foods -- portion control is important in the program, as it is for Lean Cuisine. It also offers counseling for women about emotional over-eating. Learning how not to over-eat for comfort, not conforming to an ideal of past, youthful beauty, is the focus of Jenny Craig. It is thus a plan that addresses the needs and concerns of a woman who basically accepts herself, but wants to abandon some of her more unhealthy eating habits.

Carb-conscious dieters

One of the unique facets of the Atkins diet promotional campaign is that it does not only feature women. This may sound unremarkable, but given that the major diet retailers usually use women, who are presumably more weight-conscious than men because…...

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Works Cited

Atkins. Official Website. (2008). Retrieved 29 Jan 2008 at  http://www.atkins.com/ 

Jenny Craig Official Website. (2008). Retrieved 29 Jan 2008 at  http://www.jennycraig.com/ 

Lean Cuisine: Products." (2008). Official Website. Retrieved 29 Jan 2008 at  http://www.leancuisine.com/Products

Another popular fat reduction program that focuses on the negative effects of carbs is the Atkins diet. Unlike the South Beach Diet, Atkins places a more stringent elimination on the consumption of all types of carbohydrates. According to Atkins, Western eating habits are prone to creating obesity because of the large focus on refined carbohydrates found in sugar, flour and high-fructose corn syrups. Further, Atkins argues that saturated fat is not an obesity factor but that trans fat is and thus need to be completely avoided. With such a foundation, the Atkins Diet essentially argues against the food pyramid, arguing that the base level of grains is actually what causes obesity instead of health.

A third fat loss program is Weight Watchers, a company that focuses on providing dieting products to assist individuals in obtaining weight loss. One method of weight loss advocated under this program is the Flex System. According…...

These wild sources of meat are posited against domesticated animals that are very high in saturated fats. Since the wild animals are ranging and eating what nature intended, they have fat that is far more healthful. Less of the fat is saturate and in monounsaturated form (like olive oil). It is now understandable why tuna is so good for a person considering that the fats are of the monounsaturated kind. Also, there are fewer of the LDL (bad cholesterol) triglycerides and trans fats that cause fat buildup in artery walls and lead to heart attacks (ibid 187).
In conclusion, while many of us can not eat the way the Inuit do in terms of the animal proteins we take in, we can get closer to what nature intended. It is as much an issue of attitude as it is an issue of accessibility and we have to think outside of…...

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Works Cited:

Gadsby, Patricia. "The Inuit Paradox." Annual Editions. 41 (2002): 185-188.

)
In the article, Taubes correlates the increase in sugar in the American diet with an increase in weight gain. In 1986, according to United States Department of Agriculture analysts, every American consumed on average 75 pounds of sugar. In the early 2000s, consumption had increased to more than 90 pounds per person per year (Taubes 3). However, Taubes neglects to note that consumption of total calories have also been increasing -- of all kinds of food, of fat as well as sugar. Physical activity has also been decreasing. Furthermore, while Taubes dismisses the additional negative effects of the addition of high-fructose corn syrup to foods and the burgeoning obesity epidemic, he also admits that the addition of HFCS to foods during the 1970s is correlated with an increase in the body mass index of Americans. In short, when statistics suit his argument -- increased sugar consumption in general as associated…...

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Works Cited

Taubes, Gary. "Is sugar toxic?" The New York Times. April 17, 2011. [May 3, 2011].

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=1