Nancy Pelosi called Donald Trump 'morbidly obese,' and people are saying that's fat-shaming

• Nancy Pelosi described Donald Trump as "morbidly obese" on Monday, while cautioning Americans not to follow the President's lead in taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus.
• People on Twitter reacted say that discussing Trump's weight was unnecessary.
• Weight is a significant concern during the pandemic, since studies suggest obesity is a risk factor for coronavirus complications.
• The CDC doesn't use the term morbidly obese. According to the president's doctor, he is at the cut-off point of being obese, with a body mass index of 30.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sparked a conversation about fat-shaming after $4

Pelosi made the comment while cautioning Americans not to use hydroxychloroquine in an attempt to prevent the coronavirus, as the president said he is doing. Hydroxychloroqine, a drug used to treat lupus, has plenty of side effects and is not proven to have any meaningful impact on the coronavirus.

But Pelosi faced a swift backlash herself for what people said was a fat-shaming comment that only perpetuates harmful weight stigma.

Epidemiologist and CNN commentator Abdul El-Sayed said Pelosi's remarks distract for legitimate criticisms of how Trump has handled the pandemic. It also reinforces weight stigma, he said.

—Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) $4

El-Sayed also pointed out that $4

—Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) $4

$4 wrote on Twitter that a barbed comment on Trump's weight detracts from more relevant potential criticisms, including $4 and $4.

Oluo said it also disparagingly compares the president with other higher-weight people. For many in the US, $4.

And, regardless of the root, Oluo said: "The size of your body has no moral value."

—Ijeoma Oluo (@IjeomaOluo) $4

However, not everyone agreed that Pelosi's comments were fat-shaming. Another Twitter user replied to Oluo noting that reading the comment as fat-shaming already makes an assumption that having a larger body is a bad thing.

—The Upside Down World (@upsidedwnworld) $4

Others have argued that "morbidly obese" is a medical term, not an insult, and that obesity is believed to be a factor in complications from COVID-19.

While $4, the issue continues to be debated even amongst experts.

Technically, the CDC doesn't use the term "morbidly obese." As $4, just enough to meet the definition of obese but far from being severely so.

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