Controversial diet guru Atkins dies at 72

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.

Dr Atkins died at New York's Weill-Cornell Medical Centre, surrounded by his wife and close friends, said Richard Rothstein, his spokesman.

Dr Atkins had suffered a severe head injury April 8 after falling on an icy path while walking to work.