Zeta-Jones: Atkins Diet Claims Are Lies

NOVEMBER 10--Fresh from a $24,000 victory over the British tab that published her wedding photos, Catherine Zeta-Jones is fixing for her next legal fight--this time, if you can believe it, over published reports that the Academy Award winner shed pounds via the Atkins diet.

In a warning letter sent last week to media outlets (see below), lawyers for Zeta-Jones assert that "her likeness and persona have been improperly linked" to the popular diet in press accounts, adding that the weight loss program "has been derided by nutritionists and other health care officials for decades." By incorrectly reporting that Zeta-Jones "uses and/or endorses the Atkins diet," the letter states, publications are "falsely representing to the average reader, including many young women who look up to my client and admire her beautiful appearance, that Ms. Zeta-Jones would recommend this diet to any person looking to lose weight."

Claiming that an association with Atkins could hurt Zeta-Jones's ability to land endorsement deals for "health-related products, attorney John H. Lavely noted, "In essence, my client is being made to look as if she's more concerned about her outward appearance than she is with serious health concerns."

While publications like the New York Post and London's Sunday Telegraph have claimed Zeta-Jones to be an Atkins devotee, an October 20 People magazine story reported that, "a source close to the famously curvy star" knocked down the diet stories, noting that the actress "eats what she wants" and exercises regularly.

Richard Rothstein, spokesman for the Atkins Nutritional Institution, told TSG that the company has not been contacted by Zeta-Jones's lawyers. "It's never been our policy to seek celebrity endorsements," Rothstein said. "Where tabloids get their info is a complete mystery to us." (2 pages)

Click to the source to see the actual letter, which is interesting. First paragraph of the second page: they seem to think this false association was orchestrated.

But AFTER I started low-carbing, after the first few rough days, I experienced a startling improvement in energy level and overall good-feeling. So I started gradually ramping up my activity level, using stairs instead of elevators, parking further and further away, etc.

That kind of synergy, where the pain of exercise gives way to the benefits of exercise, which in turn give rise to an increased activity level and more enthusiastic exercise, is experienced by almost everyone who moves from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one.

Many people(who may not have exercised for years and years) try jogging or going to the gym and experience an excrutiating agony that lasts for a week. It's unfortunate that they might become dicouraged and not continue, thinking that they will continue to endure that pain if they coninue to exercise. Once you get past that first week-or-two hump, the pleasures from exercise quickly begin to outweigh the pains.

Congrats on the successful move to better overall health. : )

In my role as webmistress of the Low-Carb Savvy Shopper site </plug>, I've been daily gathering articles related to low-carb diets. It's very funny, but you can immediately spot an article that came from a British publication: It almost always identifies the Atkins diet by which celebrities are on it. Here are some of the latest articles I have from British pubs:

[Glasgow] Daily Record: Celebrities such as Friends star Jennifer Aniston and singer GeriHalliwell have credited it with their dramatic weight loss. And up to seven per cent of British men and 10 per cent of women have tried it.
BBC: 'Twas not always thus. Once the humble spud was favoured by slimmers, but the remarkable rise of the Atkins diet, which is based on limiting carbohydrates in favour of proteins, is definitely down on them.
[Glasgow] Daily Record: A BUTCHER has been swamped with orders after creating an Atkinsfriendly square sausage following the celebrity diet craze.
The Independent: Though Atkins can count among its fans the likes of Catherine Zeta Jones, Brad Pitt and Geri Halliwell, the new research suggests that by far the nation's favourite dietary regime remains the WeightWatchers point plan.
The Publican: With reports claiming three million Brits are adopting the high-protein, high-fat eating programme, food-led pubs have been quick to market dishes as “Atkins-friendly”.
The Guardian: "Is there anyone who isn't on Atkins?" a colleague asked me the other day. It was an understandable question: the philosphy of the low-carb diet - promoted by the late Dr Robert C Atkins (he died earlier this year from a head injury) - is bandied about everywhere. ... Celebrities who once espoused the peaceful, natural ways of vegetarianism now unapologetically shill for the meaty Atkins way.
The Telegraph: So who was this low-carb, high-protein pioneer for what is now a multi-million pound industry that numbers among its devotees such Hollywood stars as Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Renee Zellweger? And how did he discover his diet?
femail.co.uk: Nutrition experts are divided over the diet, popular with celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Nigella Lawson, Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Some say it is medically unsound and a health risk. [Includes photo of Jennifer Anniston]
The Sunday Telegraph: The Atkins diet remains controversial - earlier this month it was claimed that the diet may have been a factor in the death of a 16-year-old girl, Rachel Huskey, in Missouri - but it has been adopted by millions and been credited with maintaining the figures of stars including Jennifer Aniston, of Friends, Minnie Driver and Geri Halliwell.
The Telegraph: Dr Jebb said at the Royal Institution that the Atkins Diet, which counts celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Renee Zellweger among its devotees, was a "massive health risk".
The Independent ("Great for Jennifer, bad for Slim-Fast: winners and losers in the Atkins phenomenon"):
Helped by a string of celebrity endorsements by Hollywood actresses such as Jennifer Aniston and Minnie Driver, the diet is now an economic entity equivalent to the GDP of a small African country.

The American press, OTOH, simply covers Atkins because so many Americans follow it. The American stories tend to be driven by the fact that a new low-carb store is opening up in town, or that several restaurants are reporting that more & more customers are pushing the breadbasket away & asking the waitress to "Atkinize" their order.

Question: When you heard about the Atkins diet, was it because of some celebrity, or was it word of mouth from someone real?

Question #2: Who the heck is Geri Halliwell?

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