Dr Robert Atkins, who pioneered the low-carbohydrate diet that bears his name,was clinically obese when he died, according to a pathology report revealedtoday.
Dr Atkins weighed more than 18 stone when he died after a fall on an icy footpathin New York last April.
The post-mortem report was revealed in the Wall Street Journal,which receivedit from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which opposes theAtkins Diet.
The report also revealed that Dr Atkins, who died after suffering headinjuries aged 72, had a history of heart trouble, congestive heart failure andhypertension.
His widow Veronica is outraged that his medical records have been madepublic.
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The doctor's associates joined her in denying that Dr Atkins's weight was aresult of him following his own diet regime.
Mrs Atkins said: "I have been assured by my husband's physicians that myhusband's health problems late in life were completely unrelated to his diet orany diet."
Mr Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council in New York, said thedoctor's heart problems were related to a disease of the heart muscle, calledcardiomyopathy, which could not be related to diet.
He said: "He had no record of having a heart attack. My understanding is that he had no true evidence of classical angina."
But he added: "He did have a history of irregular heartbeats."
Dr Trager said Dr Atkins's medical condition led to fluid retention andbloating, which would explain his weight, classed as obese for someone of hisheight.
The New York City Medical Examiner's Office said the report was sent to thePhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine "in error".
"They should never have received it because they weren't treatingphysicians," the office said.
The committee advocates a vegetarian diet, at odds with Atkins whichrecommends reducing carbohydrates while eating more protein, like meat andcheese.