The Atkins Diet: fad or fiction?

"I lost five pounds on the greasy food diet - French fries and onion rings," freshman Lindsey Dicola declares. I imagine how someone on the Atkins Diet would react to her comment. Would they wear a furrowed brow, mocking smile or just react in plain disgust? To find out, I decided to bother a number of Pace University students...

As you may know, the Atkins plan is based on a regiment of high-protein, low-carbohydrate foods. But, that doesn't mean the diet believes all carbs are created equal. The low-carb diet focuses on the carbs that raise your blood sugar level, inducing an insulin response in the body that eventually leads to excess storage of fat. Recently, a number of scientific studies have shown that the diet's approach to weight loss actually produces results, and with that stamp of approval, the Atkins camp has attracted more new followers than they can chew.

Because of the diet's success, about a half dozen restaurants and eateries have decided to enter the low-carb arena. Subway has their new Atkins-approved wraps, and TGI Friday's is sporting a new carb conscious menu along with Blimpie, Chili's and Ruby Tuesdays. Michael Biagiotti who works for Madison Envoy, which is currently overseeing all advertising and marketing functions for Blimpie International, told me that "Blimpie doesn't think [the Atkins Diet] is a fad, and they will continue to provide their customers with products they demand."

So where are the Atkins followers at Pace? Our favorite "greasy food diet" advocate, Lindsey Dicola said, "I knew someone on it but they did it for, like, only a month."

After realizing that every plate I set eyes upon in CAF 101 contained some form of Atkins unfriendly food, I took to the Pace gym in search of a more receptive crowd. There I bumped into a Lubin graduate who did not wish to reveal his name, but told me he has a friend currently on the diet who has lost 75 lbs. But, his vote of confidence came with a warning: "The problem is when you go off of it, you're almost married to this diet for life."

Even though the diet only recently won the approval of popular culture and the scientific community, it has been around since the 1970s and as Lubin graduate Kaiser Akram says, "People won't stop talking about the diet while UPN9 and New York One keep talking about it."