In this NY Times report about the Atkins diet, Jane Brody writes: The debate over high-fat versus low-fat as a means of weight control flared up again this summer, leaving many weight-conscious Americans thoroughly confused and most nutrition experts up in arms.

Though billed as a "diet revolution," the high-protein, high-fat, extremely low carbohydrate diet championed by Dr. Robert C. Atkins is hardly revolutionary. It was first promoted in the late 1800's by an English coffin maker and has reappeared periodically in various incarnations, most successfully since the early 1970's by Dr. Atkins, who promoted it with a series of books and a clinic that bear his name.

Does it help people lose weight? Of course it does. [...] Any diet will result in weight loss if it eliminates calories that previously were overconsumed. [...] But in a major report last week, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies emphasized the importance of balance of nutrients, with carbohydrates — starches and sugars — making up 45 percent to and 65 percent of daily calories and fats, 20 percent to 35 percent. The panel of 21 scientists also urged Americans to keep as low as possible their consumption of saturated fats, the foods Dr. Atkins recommends as his diet's main components.