Cancer specialist, Julian Peto, says that fat children should go on the atkins diet so that they lose weight and do not get illnesses. Prof. J Peto is from the Institute of Cancer Research (UK).
He says that kids who cannot lose weight would benefit from a high-protein, low-carb diet. He says this diet suppresses the appetite of these children and keeps them from getting fat again.
Professor Peto warned that obesity is overtaking smoking as the UK's number one preventable killer. He says we need to tackle obesity early.
He says that the current dietary advice is not working. Children are just getting fatter and fatter. He reckons children should have their weight checked at regular intervals at school.
In the UK, as in the USA and many other countries, child obesity is soaring, he says.
In 1998 9% of British four-year-olds were obese. In 1988 the figure was half that amount.
Being overweight increases a person's risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
The Atkins diet involves eating lots of protein foods, while at the same time consuming much fewer carbohydrates. People who eat in this way tend to eat less because proteins with low carbs make you less hungry.
It is all to do with insulin. If you eat loads of carbs in one session your insulin levels rise too high. High insulin levels tells the body and brain to do lots of things, some of which are not ideal. High insulin levels tells the brain 'do not use stored fat'. This means that a couple of hours after your high carb meal your body has two choices, either get that low sugar feeling (tiredness) or eat some more food - and the carb binge cycle perpetuates.
Professor Peto does not think high salt and fat are ideal. But he recognises that the Atkins diet gives obese people a better chance of living a healthier life than they were having before than anything else currently available.
A percentage of the population, quite a high percentage, cannot break the chain of high carb bingeing. The Atkins diet breaks this chain permanently. It is a question of balancing the good with the bad.
What is better, to be super-fat all your life, with one diet after another, or eat high-proteins and low carbs and stay slim (I refer here to people who have a serious weight problem, persistent weight problem).
It is also possible to be on a high-protein, low-carb diet and not eat loads of meat. The important thing to remember is that protein can be obtained from many sources. Soy products abound in many shops. Try to eat good quality fats, such as olive oil, almonds - mono-unsaturated fats. Try not to eat saturated fats which come from animals and egg yolk. If you eat meat, have it very lean and add some more olive oil to your salads or grab a handful of almonds.
There are fast carbs and slow carbs. Go for the slow ones. Slow carbs release the carbohydrates slowly into your system, this is better for regulating your insulin levels, and hence controlling your hunger. If you want to really get into it, get a book which lists the GI of each good. GI stands for Glycemic Index. The higher the number, the faster the carb.
With very obese people keeping to very low GI foods helps a lot. For people who are interested in their general health, keeping and eye on the amount of high GI foods helps you stay trim.