THE widow of diet pioneer Dr Robert Atkins was yesterday considering legal action over the release of medical records which showed her husband was obese when he died.

Dieticians have criticised a new food and drink range launched to capitalise on the Atkins diet craze.

DR Robert C Atkins, whose best-selling low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet was dismissed as nutritional folly for years but was recently validated in some research, died yesterday, his spokesman said. He was 72.