Atkins challenge to Potter

Slimmers hoping to get a figure like Jennifer Aniston and Renee Zellweger are snapping up copies of the Atkins diet - making it second only to the latest Harry Potter novel in the bestsellers list.

Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution is outselling all other titles by three to one, according to book chain Ottakar's.

Finance director Edward Knighton said yesterday there had been 'an absolute deluge of requests' for books based on the low-carbohydrate diet.

Sales took off after the BBC showed the results of following it for six months in The Diet Trials.

A spokesman for publisher Vermilion said: 'Last year, the book was in the top five for non-fiction. This year, it has gone on to a completely different level.'

Since it was first published four years ago, the book has sold 1.1million copies in Britain and Ireland. The new paperback edition sells about 150,000 a month.

Although the high-protein diet helps slimmers lose weight quickly, it has been criticised as being unhealthy.

Diet expert Amanda Wynne said: 'I think it is a fad that will fade once people realise it is not that different to low-fat diets.'