The diet was developed after Atkins read a research paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The paper, entitled "Weight Reduction," was published by Alfred W. Pennington in 1958.

Atkins used information from the study to resolve his own overweight condition.

[3] In October 2003 Parthenon Capital LLC and Goldman Sachs both acquired stakes in the company.

[7] In April 2017, it was reported that Conyers Park Acquisition Corporation had acquired Atkins from Roark.