Diet doctor Robert Atkins in critical condition with severe head injuries after fall

<br>NEW YORK (AP) _ Diet guru Dr. Robert C. Atkins remained in critical condition Friday morning after falling on an icy sidewalk and hitting his head earlier this week, his spokesman said. <br><br>Atkins

Friday, April 11th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Diet guru Dr. Robert C. Atkins remained in critical condition Friday morning after falling on an icy sidewalk and hitting his head earlier this week, his spokesman said.

Atkins has been listed in critical condition since surgery Thursday for severe head injuries, spokesman Richard Rothstein said. Atkins is being treated at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center.

A colleague rushed Atkins, 72, to the hospital after he fell Tuesday outside the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in midtown Manhattan.

``He was negotiating the snow and ice and failed in that negotiation,'' Rothstein said.

The extent of Atkins' impairment might not be known for a few days, he said. ``There is no change in his condition. That's not a good thing and it's not a bad thing. We're waiting for progress.''

Atkins is the author of the best-selling ``Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution.''

The Atkins diet emphasizes meat, eggs and cheese and discourages bread, rice and fruit. Long a source of controversy among nutritional experts who have favored a low-fat, high-carbohydrate approach, the diet recently gained adherents after several studies showed that people lost weight on it without compromising their health.