The Atkins diet was formulated by Dr Robert Atkins (a medical doctor, specialising in cardiology and complementary medicine) in 1972, when he published Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution. The mission of Dr Atkins was to put an end to the growing epidemics of obesity and Type 2 diabetes and thus he devised this diet, based on his research, as a way in which to do this.

The Atkins diet is probably the original low carbohydrate diet, which aims to increase weight loss by forcing the body to burn any excess fat through the high protein, higher fat and low carbohydrate consumption that this diet advocates.

The basic premise of the Atkins diet is that people who follow this diet will lose lots of weight in a short period of time.

The Atkins diet has been popularised by many celebrities in recent years.