Low-carb bubble about to burst?

Enough, already about low-carb! Nutritionists say it's a fad. Food companies are starting to listen.
March 19, 2004: 7:00 PM EST
By Parija Bhatnagar, CNN/Money Staff Writer



NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Foodmakers keep it coming: Low-carb Doritos, low-carb Entenmann's chocolate chip cookies, Heinz' 'One Carb' ketchup, a low-sugar Krispy Kreme Doughnut.

But industry watchers have a warning for companies swayed by the "Atkins friendly" hype -- this is just a fad that will fizzle away in a couple of months. Stay committed to your fatty and sugary products. They taste better, consumers already like them.

"Keep innovating, but don't ignore your core business," said Sam Rovit, a food services consultant with Chicago-based firm Bain &Co. "Companies are coming out with all these low-carb products because they're being responsive to consumer demand for the diet du jour. At the same time, they're trying to boost growth in a mature [packaged foods] market that's already experiencing low-single-digit growth."

"But you have to be cautious. The astonishing thing about this low-carb craze is the significant number of people who've tried it and then gone back to their earlier eating habits," Rovit added. "That's why what I'd say to the pizza chains is, 'Hang in there. People will be eating deep-dish pizzas soon."

Indeed, food companies have been clamoring to take advantage of the explosive popularity of the low-carb diet promoted by the late Dr. Robert Atkins. According to market research firm ACNielsen, more than 17 percent of U.S. households include someone who is currently on a low-carbohydrate diet.

More importantly, and to Rovit's point, a slightly higher number -- 19.2 percent -- reported someone in their household was once on a low-carb diet, but is no longer.

"The low-carb diet craze is having a significant impact on how people eat. However, the number of people who have tried a low-carb diet and are no longer on it is compelling as well," Todd Hale, ACNielsen analyst and senior vice president, wrote in a report. "The jury is still out as to whether the low-carb diet has staying power."

The countdown has begun
Nutritionist Charles Platkin says the low-carb food fever is a "food deja vu" that smells a lot like the "low-fat" craze in the early 1990s.

Said Platkin, "Didn't we go through this already? Here we go again. Restaurants are adding low-carb menus. Food manufacturers like Unilever introduced a whole low-carb line of products. Pepsi Foods has also made a quick turnaround over the last 12 months and has joined the club."

His verdict: It's a mistake.

Platkin says that while a balanced low-carb diet with vegetables may help to control or reduce weight, low-carb snacks, beverages, chocolates, doughnuts, may not. "It's a Catch 22 for consumers. A low-carb alternative isn't always a calorie bargain."

"I think this low-carb trend in processed food is misguided and more of a hype issue. I expect it will last maybe just another 14 to 16 months," he said.

Not so, said Dr. Stewart Trager, with the Atkins Physicians Council.

"The fundamental difference between the low-fat diet and the Atkins diet is that people have discovered the Atkins diet and its benefits on their own and have chosen to follow it. It was not prescribed by the medical profession," Trager said. "As more people see its impact, its following will continue to grow."

Sin over salvation
Burt Flickinger, a consultant with the Strategic Resources Group, disagrees with Trager. He thinks that when it comes to their eating habits, consumers will continue to choose the proverbial sin over salvation -- or fat and sugar -- over the lack of it.

"Americans are work-stressed, time-stressed, and they're eating out more. Sugar and fat is tasty and it gives immediate gratification," said Burt Flickinger, a consultant with the Strategic Resources Group in New York.

Food companies are smart, and recognize this fact.

"We have our share of the high-calorie indulgent products and they will always be popular because people don't want to diet 24/7," General Mills CEO Stephen Sanger, told analysts at a food industry conference last month. "My point is we have lots of brands that can play an important role in a balanced weight regimen."

Even though the company, which makes Cheerios cereal and Pillsbury chocolate-chip cookies, said the low-carb trend has hurt sales of some products, it's currently developing a doughnut -- and it's not low-carb -- for one of its customers.

Meanwhile, Hershey Foods announced earlier this year it would develop a line of nutrition bars in partnership with Dr. Barry Sears, who developed the carb-friendly Zone Diet.

Said Flickinger, "Food manufacturers will capitalize on fads as long as they're around and its profitable for them. When it's over, it's on to the next thing."

http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/19/new...rkill/index.htm

The person who wrote this and the people quoted are biased and wrong in my opinion.
Low Carb is NOT a fad, not to the core group who know it as a WOL all these new low carb products are wonderful for us, we know how to work the system, for the newbies they spell doom. We all know you cant loose weight eating low carb cupcakes and jellybeans. These are tools, treats for the occasional dalliance from protein and salad, when used in this fashion they are heaven but they arent for everyday or worse everymeal/everyday use.
I love knowing that I have a freezer full of low carb brownies, ice cream, cheesecake. I sleep better having the pantry stocked with sugarfree and low carb treats and sweets. Just knowing that these products are there, keeps me from cheating and when I do need to blow off a little steam I have some of them and then Im done, they dont set off days of carb bingeing. The first week I started low carbing I was drinking tons of diet soda, coffee and eating lots of cheese and meat. I was setting myself up for failure because I never even read the Atkins book or foodlist. I crashed hard, cheated for days and then got back on track, went to the low carb store, stocked up on products mentioned above and Ive been cheat free ever since, it took all the pressure off, it was like a life preserver in case of emergencies. Now when I "cheat" I have some low carb ice cream with some nuts and sugarfree syrup or some low carb chocolate, low carb crackers with cheese or some soy chips and sunflower seeds. You get the idea. So low carb products are great for the informed, kiss of death to the newbies. Embrace the new products, use them as a tool to the OWL and as a treat every now and then and you will be fine. As far as the people quoted in the above article, they strike me as Atkins haters, Low Carb is NOT a fad, not to the millions of people it has worked for, is working for. I dont know if low carb Doritos will be here in a year, but I know we will be here, working the magic that is low carb. I was skeptical in the beginning but now I am a true believer, the king of low carb, dont tell me this is a fad.

If the world is cold make it your business to build fires.

I agree with Stephen and I think that people are writing these articles to make people think it's a fad. As more doctors see the health benefits, it will gain wider acclaim. Of course, the downfall is that many drug companies are going to see a profound loss of revenue. Makers of drugs for heartburn, diabetes,joint pain, and many others will be edged out of the market.

I can't remember the Dr's name who said this, but a Dr. on CNN was being interviewed about the Atkins diet in particular and he said the diet was power AS A medicine. Not AS powerful as medicine, but as powerful as some drugs in it's ability to clear up symptoms of some conditions.
That's a huge leap for us who already know this.

I've run into a number of people now that have been put onto low carb diets by their doctors, just general practicioners. Usually it is to lower triglycerides.

F(g)ood vs. Evil! No wonder people think that Dr. Atkins' followers are fanatics.


We can only hope that health and the knowledge to maintain it will triumph over indulgence.

I have to say in some ways I agree with some of the things in this article. Low carb is a great WOL for me as it has helped me control my blood sugar and lose some weight, but...

Is eating a thin crust pizza or Atkins advantage bars or Stover's low carb chocolates actually helping us change the way we eat? NOT REALLY. All it does is allow us to replace one bad habit with another. 20 years ago I bought a book called SUGAR BLUES by William Duffy. It talks about how sugar and other over refined foods are harming our society. I'm reading it again. With all the low carb foods that are coming out, the same thing is happening again. Different poision, same shit.

You want to get healthy? Cut the refined foods out of your diet and find a new life style to replace your current one. Now, I'm no saint and do back slide but I'm trying. More exercise, changing my lunch hour habits, keeping no junk food around. When something is upsetting me, I try to figure it out and deal with it rather than turning to my old crutch, food. I want to encourge all the others who are taking this WOL seriously. It works.

I wonder if these same common sense warnings from medical professionals were trotted out at the height of the low-fat product craze. My guess is that the various "rent-a-quote" clinicians hailed it as move that would provide more choice and therefore more staying power. Whomever is funding the quote must not want them to say that processed foods, low fat or low carb, are not a first choice.

Bingo. It was a grass roots revolution. Everyone knows at least 1 person who lost like a ridiculous amount of weight doing "that crazy atkins diet that will cause an instant heart attack and cause your kidneys to shut down". Then they decided to try it, and waddya know, it's not so crazy.

Low fat diets, on the other hand, became popular because very very impressively educated doctors with the help of very very powerful politicians told us it was the way humanity should be eating. Too bad they were wrong. Sugar content of food skyrocketed, and so did diabesity.
Ironically enough, they benefit more from our increasing dietary-related sicknesses than they do our health. Meds to control the diseases these doctors caused are a huge business you know. I work in market research; basically my job is to annoy endocrinologists over the phone and ask them the names of doctors they consult with regarding diabetes patients. Why? Because the company that hires me wants to know which doctors across the country are the most influential in the treatment of diabetes patients, so they can market their drugs to them. (Yes I do feel guilty doing this job and contributing to the problem, but hey I have to make a living some how.)

Anyway, it is important to remember why people don't make LC work. It is not the same reason as LF. People don't stick with LC because they miss their old favorites (not out of hunger but out of LUXURY) and there are NO ALTERNATIVES for them.

As more LC alternatives come out, people will find less temptation to stray, and staying LC will be easier.

I like the analogy of movies -- you can have high-budget, heavily-marketed movies (Waterworld, Incredible Hulk) flop dramatically because they don't work. You can also have movies that do work, and were low-cost that sweep the country because they have great word-of-mouth (Big Fat Greek Wedding, Blair Witch Project).

Low carb is like one of those movies -- it's got great word of mouth. It never had the marketing push that various low fat, liquid, or starvation diets had. But it didn't need the marketing -- it works, and that's precisely how I got on it. I had never even heard of Dr. Atkins before 2003. I'd probably seen the book or something, but if I'd been asked who he was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. A friend lost 80 pounds, and lost it very easily. I've now lost 60 pounds, and have set 3-4 other people on it. This chain will continue, because low carb works.

It's now got the attention of various interests who will market it, and some of the stuff they market will be crap. Some will be great.




Yeah. It does help relieve some monotony to spread some low carb BBQ sauce on ribs, or to throw grilled chicken and veggies into a LC tortilla, or to have a half cup of ice cream sometimes. I'd still be on this woe without those things, but they do help me from time to time.

I agree with Marge that this article has merit. For many people this is a fad and a supposed easy way to lose weight. I suspect it will take more than a few months, perhaps more like a few years before the fad aspect passes.

I work with people who are buying the Atkins Bars by the box and who go on and on about lowcarb, but have never read the book. These are the same people who are going to get limited or no results over a few months and will call this WOE a failure and move on to the next "new thing."

This is reality and food manufacturers/processors would be wise not to place all their bets on this being a long term trend.

Clearly the lowcarb WOE does work for many people, but the trick is can they maintain if they do lose the weight? I know from personal experience that this is the hard part. Lost 60 pounds with Atkins in 1978 and slowly over the next 25 years gained it back.

Having learned from experience, I know the best we can do is find a program like Atkins or PP that works and stick with it, not just for the weight loss, but also to increase overall health, regardless of whether it's the "in" thing or not.

I've got a copy of Sugar Blues copyrighted 1975, that's 29 years ago.

Maggie, did you like Sugar Blues? I bought it this Christmas and I found it to be an absolutely awesome book...I would have loved to find it before, like, when I was 4!

LOL. I read it for the first time in my early twenties(1985). I should have learned then what refined foods would do to my body. I lost some weight and gained a lot of health that spring and summer. Unfortunately I met someone who liked his rich foods and started eating alongs side instead of listening to myself.

Over the years I've put it on and taken it off. the past seven years was on, and on, and on. For the first time in seven years I'm finnaly losing weight and gaining health.

I find that what he has to say in Sugar Blues is still as important today as it was 29 years ago. I'm rereading it to support a lot of what Atkin's had to say in his book.

Hey folks, it's all about the all mighty driver, earning money and keeping it. There is no money to be made on healthy people who make healthy choices and lead a healthy lifestyle.

I can find points of agreement and disagreement with the article. Like it or not, for a large number of people it really IS a fad. Right now, it reminds me of Beanie Babies. Starts out small, now EVERYBODY wants in on it...people are clamoring for low-carb everything, you go to buy a bottle of Keto Ketchup, they're sold out. The few low-carb products I use and have come to love are often back-ordered.

The companies are rushing to cash in while it's still hot, and pretty soon the people who started buying all things low-carb will move on, leaving a trail of "See, I TOLD you it was just a fad!" And life goes on for those of us who are making it a lifestyle change.

And still buy the occasional Beanie Baby...