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Interesting! Just pulled this off CNN.com

Tracy

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Is the low-carb backlash beginning?
Some foodmakers say moderate will replace extreme in diets
Monday, February 23, 2004 Posted: 1:04 PM EST (1804 GMT)



SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (Reuters) -- U.S. foodmakers are scrambling to satisfy
consumer clamorings for low-carbohydrate products but also see a move toward
more balanced eating that could spell doom for the strictest low-carb diets,
like Atkins.

At an industry conference last week in Scottsdale, Arizona, companies
including Kellogg Co. and Hershey Foods Corp. touted products such as
low-carb cereals and chocolate bars catering to the millions of Americans
following diets that eschew carbohydrates like bread, sugar and pasta in
favor of high-protein foods and those made with sugar alternatives.

But even as they push these new products, companies which have been hurt 
by
the backlash against carbohydrates expect consumers will soon back off 
the
more extreme low-carb diets due to growing concerns about their intake 
of
artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

Recent studies have put the number of Americans following low-carb diets 
at
anywhere from 10 million to 24 million.

"Everything in moderation is ultimately where all these things lead 
to,"
said Douglas Conant, chief executive of Campbell Soup Co. "These diets
become fad-like and take on lives of their own ... and typically they are
not sustainable."

The Atkins diet, which tells followers they may eat liberal amounts of
bacon, eggs, cream and other high-fat products, is widely considered to 
be
the most extreme low-carb diet.

Controversy surrounding the Atkins diet intensified after reports alleging
that the diet's creator Dr. Robert Atkins, had a heart condition and
overweight at the time of death.

But Dr. Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians' Council, said
Atkins' heart condition was not related to his diet. In addition, the doctor
weighed 195 pounds only a week before his death, Trager said, calling the
suggestion that Atkins was obese a "misrepresentation."

Still, food executives said the negative reports have started to raise 
some
concerns.

"You are beginning to see a bit of the wheels coming off the cart right 
now
already on this whole Atkins diet," Irwin Simon, chief executive of 
organic
foods maker Hain Celestial Group Inc., said in an interview. "No carbs, 
high
fat -- there are going to be some big challenges."

Simon added that he follows his own low-carb -- but also low-fat -- diet,
staying away from red meat as well as bread and pasta.

Reports raise eyebrows
The negative reports about Atkins, which prompted a flurry of headlines
across the globe labeling him "Dr. Fatkins," come on top of numerous 
public
attacks by low-fat diet gurus such as Dr. Dean Ornish and nutrition advocacy
groups.

Late last year, the vegetarian group Physician's Committee for Responsible
Medicine created buzz by saying the Atkins diet could lead to heart disease
and may have contributed to the death of one teen-age dieter.

"You're beginning to see some publications and some articles about 
taking
these diets to an extreme," Kellogg Chairman and CEO Carlos Gutierrez 
told
reporters at the conference. "All these small events, whether it's 
somebody
on the news or whether it's a magazine article, they chip away at the diet."

Kellogg is addressing concerns about the strictest low-carb diets in a 
new
television commercial for its Morningstar Farms vegetarian burgers and
patties, which the company says are naturally low in carbs. In the
commercial, a voice questions whether low-carb diets are being taken too
far, while a woman is overheard ordering veal chops, ribs, buffalo wings 
and
a burger without the bun.

"It addresses that there is a lot of confusion out there," Gutierrez said 
of
the ad. "What we're trying to say is that we know the whole thing seems 
a
bit ridiculous. Here's something you can try."

Cereal-maker Kellogg is not the only company that is hoping to inject a 
dose
of moderation into the low-carb craze.

Hershey CEO Richard Lenny, for one, said the candy company has teamed up
with Dr. Barry Sears, an advocate of the popular Zone diet, to make a line
of nutrition bars that Lenny said follow the principles of balanced
nutrition.

"As most fads go, something converges back to the center, which is one 
of
the reasons we have this alliance," Lenny said in an interview.

Another big food company, ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co. , stressed that 
its
new "Truth About Carbs" line of Smart Ones frozen entrees, which are 
being
co-marketed with Weight Watchers International Inc., are aimed at dieters
who are interested in balanced eating.

"It hits people who are interested in low carb, it hits people who 
are
interested in caloric intake, and it hits people who just want to feel
better about themselves," said Heinz CEO William Johnson.

"We present a balanced approach to this instead of a one-sided, overly
aggressive approach to try to deal with a trend that may or may not last 
and
may or may not change over time."



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