Fatkins

By KATE ZERNIKE

Published: December 26, 2004



t was probably inevitable that the year that started with a boom in low-carb diets would end in a bust in low-carb diets.

This is a country where we want to have our cake and eat foie gras hotdogs, too, and in the search for free calories, the diet pendulum swings wildly.

The people ordering bacon double cheeseburgers served "protein style" (lettuce in place of the high-carb bun) in the belief that the Zone, South Beach or Atkins diet would finally melt that weight away were undoubtedly the same ones snarfing boxes of Snackwells in the low-fat heyday of the early 1990's. Today, they are derided as "fatkins" zealots.

Early in the year, 9 percent of Americans said they were on a low-carb diet; 27 percent were not dieting, in one poll, but said they were "carb conscious." In some of the best circles, it became acceptable for guests to pluck the salmon or Stilton off the crackers passed around at parties. But by November, about half the low-carb dieters had strayed; about 4.5 percent of Americans claimed adherence.

Businesses, too, were regretting their investments. More than 3,000 low-carb products hit the shelves last year, according to industry groups, with a peak of 622 new products in June. Representatives of some of the country's biggest food companies gathered in January to strategize for a market that they said would be worth $25 billion this year.

By the end of the year, companies like Kellogg's were reporting that they could not sell their low-carb inventories. Atkins planned to lay off 40 percent of its employees, cut its marketing budget for next year by almost half and hired a turnaround firm. Keto Foods had stopped making 75 out of its 110 low-carb products.

And the hot new franchise? California-based House of Bread.

News reports in February that the creator of the Atkins plan, Dr. Robert Atkins, had suffered from heart disease at his death in 2003 (his widow and doctors said it was caused by a virus, not the diet) did not seem to deter many Americans from their steak-with-gorgonzola regimen.

In the end, maybe it was the warnings that eating a high-fat diet could increase the risk of some cancers - or cause kidney stones, high cholesterol, headaches or constipation - that led to the demise of low-carb diets. Maybe it was the bad breath.

In addition, many dieters complained that the diets were boring, hard to follow and that the weight came back quickly when they tried to reintroduce some carbs.

Nutritionists said that the low-carb fanatics missed a truth that has long eluded American dieters: a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, whether it comes from pasta or steak, nonfat mayonnaise or a low-carb brownie.

The American Institute for Cancer Research issued a reminder: the only way to lose weight, it said, was to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, to reduce portion sizes and to exercise.

But somehow, the chances that dieters in the New Year will flock to so moderate an approach seem, well, slim.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/26/w...tner=ALTAVISTA1