US

This Plus-Size Instagram Model Is Upset Because A Doctor Offered To Help Her Lose Weight

fizkes/Shutterstock

Jena Greene Reporter
Font Size:

Alexandra Thomas, a plus sized model with close to 200,000 followers on Instagram, is receiving national attention for releasing a video blog about a recent experience she had with her dermatologist.

She detailed the incident in her car after the appointment concluded.

“Being overweight is interesting, because people think they can say anything to you all of the time — like you don’t know you’re overweight,” she said in the video titled “The Truth About Being Fat.”

Thomas explained how she and her dermatologist were exploring solutions for a different problem and — according to the model — the doctor concluded by mentioning when she goes to her primary care doctor next, she’d also be able to help her manage her weight.

“In the end, you just had to go and ruin it and say ‘she can help you with your weight,'” Thomas explained.

Let’s get one thing straight here. Doctors – regardless of their speciality – are typically concerned with the same general goal: patient health.

That’s the whole purpose of doctors. And I’m no doctor but I did manage to pass 8th grade health class where you learn that being overweight is in fact, unhealthy. So wouldn’t you think that — again, as a medical doctor — you’d want to help your patients manage their weight and improve their health? Or am I just stuck in the old world where calling out something unhealthy wasn’t considered taboo?

Also, this girl’s entire livelihood is based on her life as a plus sized girl. Her Instagram handle is @LearningToBeFearless. Is it at all possible that Thomas might have been the first one to bring up her weight with her doctor? Maybe it was just in passing, something as simple as “I’m a plus sized blogger,” but there’s definitely a chance that this girl brought the issue up first. And maybe her doctor was just trying to help. Last time I checked, doctors are doctors. Not psychics or therapists.

Call me old school but I’m not ready to live in a world where doctors are afraid to give diagnoses and treatments for fear of insulting their patients. If I’m sick, I’d like to know. Don’t ignore the issue because you’re afraid to hurt people’s feelings. This is a very valuable lesson that blind acceptance is not always a positive thing.

Follow Jena on Twitter.

Tags : plus size
Jena Greene