Leah Messer is freaking out a lot folks. The "Teen Mom 2" star didn't make her daughter with muscular dystrophy use the doctor-ordered wheelchair, which upset Ali's dad, Corey Simms, who fears Messer is endangering their child. Leah Messer's scary weight loss has fans asking (again) about anorexia, depression, and/or prescription drug abuse.
Did Leah Messer fail special needs daughter?
That depends on who you ask. The girl's doctor might say yes. A patient with muscular dystrophy is supposed to use a wheelchair to prevent falls. This becomes even more imperative with age, as both mom and dad Corey Simms were told. But Ali might tell a different story. The 7-year-old doesn't like her wheelchair and wants to walk. Messer says she tries to keep the child in her chair but feels walking should be Ali's choice. Anyone who thinks the "Teen Mom 2" star will prevent her daughter from walking if she wants to is "out of their f--king mind," according to the reality television star.
Does Leah Messer have anorexia?
Is Messer a negligent mom or just not a helicopter parent? The "Teen Mom 2" star says she has to balance her child's freedom with caution. As Ali gets older she will fall more and the girl tends to overdo it when she's out of the wheelchair. And when it comes to the "eating disorder," Messer takes a similar stance: she tries to keep things in perspective and wishes others would, too. The MTV reality TV mom says it's no one's business what she eats each day. There are more important things to worry about than weight gain or loss. Leah denied having anorexia nervosa and says nagging her about it is body-shaming.
Thin-shaming Leah Messer hurts like fat-shaming
It's not only the obese who are body-shamed.
Sometimes overweight people themselves are the worst body-shamers. They protest name-calling yet refer to smaller people as "scarecrows," "twigs," and other hurtful names. It's not politically correct to say "fat person" but stick-thin or skinny is fine. People who won't hear that obesity is killing them will tell a thin woman that she is sick. The same people offended by suggestions of weight loss will self-righteously tell thin folk to gain weight. It's socially acceptable to fault a thin person for under eating -- that's just trying to help. Yet blaming an overweight person for overeating is bullying. Smaller people like Leah Messer are accused of bulimia or some other eating disoder like it's something to be ashamed of. But as the "Teen Mom 2" star explains, being able to gain weight isn't always about eating. Some struggle to put on pounds just as others struggle to lose them.