To combat the confusion generated by recent attacks from industry-funded groups such as the Partnership for Essential Nutrition (partly funded by Weight Watchers) and the Produce for Better Health Foundation, Atkins Health & Medical Information Services is urging Americans to once again look to the Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid(TM), a learning tool which graphically portrays the foods you eat when properly following the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM) (ANA).
The pyramid clearly reflects the nutritional approach as stated by Dr. Robert C. Atkins since 1972, focusing on a truly balanced nutritional approach -- including a variety of proteins, good fats and nutrient-dense carbohydrates, such as leafy greens, other vegetables and low-glycemic fruits. These groups by misrepresenting Atkins as not including vegetables and low-glycemic fruits do a great disservice to the millions of Americans who have benefited by following the Atkins program, which is one of the few scientifically-validated weapons in the battle against America's obesity epidemic.
In early 2004, the Atkins Physicians Council (APC) briefed federal officials and members of the Bush Administration on the Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid(TM). The pyramid represents a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach that could serve the needs of many of the more than 100 million Americans who are losing the battle against obesity.
"We recognize that there is no single nutritional solution for Americans battling overweight, obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but clearly the existing Food Guide Pyramid and future versions that might continue to rely solely on low-fat, portion-control or calorie-counting approaches will not be helpful to many of the approximately 60 percent of our population who have been unsuccessful using these same strategies over the past few decades," explains Stuart Trager, M.D., medical director of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.
To further support the Atkins pyramid, there are over 28 peer-reviewed clinical studies that support the principles behind the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM), each of which demonstrates that, on average, subjects experience improvements in both weight loss and health. These studies have now been performed for up to one year, and the efficacy and safety of the approach is constantly being reaffirmed.