Welsh hospitals say no to Atkins
Oct 5 2003
Lucy Ballinger, Wales on Sunday
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WELSH hospitals are refusing to serve the Atkins Diet because of worries about its health risks.
Although the weight loss craze has been linked to heart disease, bowel cancer and kidney failure, around three million people across Britain follow the low-carbohydrate plan.
But Welsh hospital Trusts are refusing to serve special meals which fit the controversial diet to patients who request it.
Renee Zellweger famously piled on the pounds for her role as Bridget Jones but immediately lost them by going on the Atkins diet.
And people trying to shed pounds see the diet offers fast and effective weight loss.
But there have been concerns over the long-term effects of the Atkins Diet - critics say the high protein/ low carbohydrate diet is nutritionally incomplete.
A spokeswoman for Conwy and Denbighshire Trust said: "We would not endorse the diet and certainly would not provide it to patients.
"If someone requested it we would explain the need for a healthy, balanced diet.
"If patients wanted to follow the Atkins plan in our hospitals they would need to make their own private arrangements to do so."
The British Dietetic Association does not endorse the Atkins Diet because they feel it fails to follow healthy eating guidelines.
Community development dietician Kylie Quigg, from Wrexham Maelor Hospital, says food experts have snubbed Dr Atkins' recommendations because it offers only a short-term fix.
She said: "Generally speaking as a profession, dieticians do not recommend the Atkins Diet as a method of achieving weight loss after concerns over the overall nutritional balance of the diet.
"But although dieticians would not endorse the Atkins Diet, we aim to provide a good service. If a patient in hospital makes a request we would be courteous and endeavour to meet their needs as best as we could.
"The goal during admission is for the patient to get better. Therefore, we would offer a choice menu to patients but would not endorse and support the provision of Atkins-style meals."
But Ms Quigg believes even taking Atkins off the menu wouldn't stop people on the diet from following it.
"It is up to the patient to choose their meal in line with the Atkins diet, if they wish, off a varied menu.
"There will always be high- protein options to choose from and the patient can select what foods to eat and not eat off their plate."
Alison Williams, chief executive of Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust, agrees.
"We would not cater for it specifically, but because Atkins is a high-protein diet, patients could select the high-protein options we provide on our menu."
Other hospital trusts, while not endorsing Atkins, have stressed the need for patient consultation.
Peter Welsh, spokesman for Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, said: "Special dietary requirements are discussed with the individuals concerned and agreed on the basis of what is best for their physical and emotional wellbeing and health.
"In general terms, our dietitians advise the most effective way of achieving sustained weight loss is by following a healthy balanced diet."
The Atkins Diet - developed by Dr Robert Atkins - has taken America and Britain by storm,
Stars Geri Halliwell, Jennifer Aniston and Catherine Zeta Jones are all said to have lost weight by going on the diet.
And their apparent success has encouraged as many as seven per cent of British men and 10 per cent of women to try it.
But 16-year-old American Rachel Huskey died earlier this year from heart failure after trying to lose weight and experts who investigated her death believed it could have been due to the way the Atkins Diet had upset her metabolism.
But the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust stressed the need for personal choice of diet to be respected.
A spokeswoman said: "It's patient choice and they can choose what they want."
"Welsh hospitals say no to Atkins"
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