The NEA, the New York State United Teachers, Public Schools for the 21st Century, and the National Association of State Boards of Education have reportedly struck deals with Atkins Nutritionals, the commercial arm of the low-carb fad diet empire.

In a letter to each organization, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine faults the associations for mortgaging children ™s health in financial deals with a fad diet company. PCRM will launch a national letter-writing campaign on its Web site tomorrow.

The Atkins diet emphasizes meat and other fatty foods and is low on healthy carbohydrate-rich foods, such as rice, that are staples in countries where populations are generally slim, healthy, and long-lived.

The Atkins diet is a terrible message for kids, and the NEA should be ashamed of itself for selling out, said PCRM President Neal D. Barnard, M.D. Children have been repeatedly exploited in marketing arrangements with the dairy industry, Coca-Cola, Krispy Kreme donuts, and fast-food chains, and it ™s time for this to stop.

Low-carb diets have been condemned by many health organizations, including the American Heart Association, because they often lead to high cholesterol levels and other problems.

For the NEA to team up with a fad diet company is irresponsible, Dr. Barnard said. At the very time that studies have linked low-carb diets to high cholesterol levels, heart disease, and kidney abnormalities, the NEA has apparently cut a deal with the group that pushes this dangerous diet.

This arrangement is just as unscrupulous as the deals schools have made with candy and soft drink companies ”deals that will likely be targeted by upcoming legal challenges, said PCRM Chief Legal Counsel Mindy Kursban.

News agencies have recently reported that Atkins Nutritionals has fallen on hard times as interest in low-carb diets has waned and as health risks of low-carb diets have come to light. The company is evidently looking for ways to rebound, according to PCRM.

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Dairy Australia ™s dietitian Janine Cornel concurred, The danger of such health myths is that people can miss out on the nutrients their body needs. Dairy foods naturally contain more than 10 essential nutrients including calcium, riboflavin, protein and vitamins A and B12. Studies have found that children who avoid cows ™ milk are at greater risk of deficiencies in these nutrients, which can have serious health consequences.

We are especially concerned about parents reducing dairy foods in their children ™s diets. Studies show that 47 per cent of parents have changed their children ™s diets because of asthma or a combination of asthma and another condition. Most of these parents chose to eliminate dairy foods and most did not consult their doctor or a dietitian."

Both Prof Tang and Ms Cornel encouraged people with asthma or who have children with asthma to talk to their doctor before making any dietary changes.

For further information, the National Asthma Council has a fact sheet entitled Asthma and food ™ available on its website