Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Helping the Atkins Foundation Stand for Good Nutrition

The Atkins name is recognized around the world as the authority in controlled carbohydrate nutrition. But with the numbers of overweight and obese Americans reaching staggering levels, Veronica Atkins enlisted our assistance in finding a way to broaden the research and education role of the six-year-old foundation named after her late husband, Dr. Robert C. Atkins, which is now a supporting organization at The National Philanthropic Trust.

We helped the Atkins Foundation develop a forward-looking plan for scientifically exploring the links between good nutrition and sound healthcare — regardless of whether the findings fully supported the low-carbohydrate lifestyle.

As part of the unfolding strategy, the Foundation forged new relationships — and strengthened existing ones — with nationally respected organizations that shared its goals. In the spring of 2005, for example, it awarded a $5 million grant to Washington University in St. Louis and Barnes-Jewish Hospital to support leading-edge clinical research in obesity. The no-strings-attached grant is also helping to pilot a medical-school curriculum in obesity and develop a community-based program to treat childhood obesity by engaging the entire family. Moreover, a partnership with Trust for America’s Health produced a well-publicized report, F as in Fat, alerting the nation to a growing obesity “epidemic,” while underscoring how national and state policies are failing to address the problem. With the pathway more clearly defined, the Atkins Foundation and chairperson Veronica Atkins are better positioned than ever to leverage their celebrated name on behalf of the millions of people who could benefit mightily from better nutrition and more active lifestyles.