Washington, DC; September 28, 2004 -- The Partnership for Essential Nutrition -- a coalition of consumer, nutrition and public health groups - today launched a major assault to prevent marketers of low-carb diets from distributing information through the nation's schools.
Responding to the partnership between Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. and major educational associations to provide nutritional information to school children, the coalition announced a massive letter writing campaign to demand the immediate cancellation of this agreement. Along with generating letters from nutrition and public health groups, the coalition is calling on concerned parents to flood the National Education Association (NEA), the teacher's union and the lead group working with Atkins, with individual protests. Besides the NEA, the other educational associations that have teamed up with Atkins are the New York State United Teachers, Public Schools for the 21st Century and the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).
To generate a flood of letters of protest, the coalition urged concerned parents to write or call Jerry Newberry, Director, National Education Association Health Information Network, 1206 6th St. NW, Washington DC 20036 (202)833-4000. The contact at the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is Jim Bogden, 277 S. Washington St., Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 684-4000 (ext. 108). Public Schools of the 21st Century is a coalition that includes New York State United Teachers and Atkins Nutritionals. New York State United Teachers is located at 800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, New York 12110-2455 (518) 213-6000.
"The low-carb marketers of the Atkins diet are using a cunning strategy to place their name and logo in an arena that should be sacrosanct -- our nation's schools," said Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D., president of Shape Up America!, one of the lead groups involved in the coalition. "Although the stated goal is to combat childhood obesity, the real agenda is to continue to portray carbohydrates as the nutritional equivalent of snake oil and to target this information at vulnerable children."
Dr. Moore also questioned the timing of this new agreement, stating "This is a food company that has sold tens of millions of diet books that slander fruit, vegetables, whole grains and dairy and then further profits by selling replacement foods and supplements. I find it particularly insidious now when the company may be experiencing financial woes that it has begun to target school children." (According to numerous reports, Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. is experiencing financial difficulties and in September hired a crisis management firm to engineer a turnaround.)
At the same time, the Partnership leveled a plea to the NEA and other educational groups, warning that there are very real dangers to children if they were to adopt a low carbohydrate diet. This is because the brain requires 130 grams of glucose a day for normal functioning1, a quantity of carbohydrates that even the maintenance level of the Atkins diet does not deliver. Without sufficient carbohydrates, children will not consume the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and dietary fiber necessary for optimal development.
Along with protesting the Atkins agreement specifically, the coalition also urged parents and local school boards to re-examine the system for how schools are financed -- the real reason that schools seek commercial sponsorships. Explained Dr. Moore, "The implementation of a strategy such as this highlights a lack of commitment to a rational system of financing public education that will protect the health and well being of our nation's children."
The Partnership for Essential Nutrition is a broad-based group of non-profit consumer, nutrition and public health organizations formed in 2004 to promote programs, policies and research that will advance public understanding about the essentials of a nutritionally balanced diet. Dedicated to providing guidance regarding the important contribution that all three macronutrients -- carbohydrates, protein and fat -- play in promoting good health and successful weight loss, the coalition was organized by Shape Up America!, which raised the funds to develop and implement this educational campaign. Consult the Partnership website [www.essentialnutrition.org] for more information.
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