August 12, 2003

City Diary

Atkins diet gets bitter

By Dominic Walsh

link to full article

TONY FROGGATT, the extremely personable new chief executive of Scottish & Newcastle, the UK’s biggest brewer, is the latest FTSE 100 boss to be unmasked as an acolyte of the Atkins diet.

The only problem is that beer is on the list of things that followers of the low-carbohydrate regime are supposed to steer clear of. Which may explain why, as Froggatt reluctantly admits, the diet is working “only slowly”.

There is another reason why the Atkins diet sits rather uneasily with Froggatt. Earlier in his career he helped to launch Weight Watchers in Australia, developing it into the country’s leading dietary brand.

But the rugby-loving Australian is determined to persist with Atkins, albeit accompanied by continued imbibing of his favourite tipple, John Smith’s ale. “I’m not going to live my life not drinking,” he says. “I love beer.”

[snip]

city.diary~thetimes.co.uk