A leading nutritionist claims the high protein, low carbohydrate Atkins diet is a mass experiment into public health and is based on "pseudo-science".  She warned such fad diets could pose serious health problems because cutting out entire food groups is unbalanced and untested.

Dr. Susan Jebb (Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research Centre, Cambridge, England) has declared recommending the Atkins diet to overweight persons as negligent.  The diet worked only because it reduced calorie intake.  However, staying on it long term could be harmful.  Nutritionists are concerned that eating lots of protein could strain the kidneys and increase amounts of calcium excreted from the body, thus affecting bone growth and regeneration.

Dr. Jane Ogden said: "The reality of dieting is that you have to change your lifestyle and modify the behaviour that you have learned from being a baby and that's extremely difficult."