Donald Trump's medical examination mocked with 'girther' movement

Trump smiles as he meets with members of the U.S. Coast Guard, who he invited to play golf, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in December - AP
Trump smiles as he meets with members of the U.S. Coast Guard, who he invited to play golf, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in December - AP

Donald Trump's medical examination has sparked online skepticism, dubbed the 'girther movement', as questions were raised over the measurements given for his height and weight.

In his annual health check, the US president's official weight was given as 239 pounds (17 stone) and his height as 75in (6ft3), which classes him as medically overweight but just shy of obese.

However, the White House doctor's claim that Mr Trump is in "excellent" health has prompted online mockery in the form of the Twitter hashtag '#girther'. 

The online movement, which questions whether Mr Trump's true weight was provided, echos the 'birther' conspiracy theory Mr Trump led over Barack Obama's birth records.

Mr Trump alleged that Mr Obama was born in Kenya and was therefore not eligible to be a US president.

Among the skeptics was Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, who has offered to donate $100,000 to a charity of Mr Trump's choice if he steps on a scale.

There have been around 56,000 tweets about the girther movement since Mr Trump's measurements were released, with one of the first tweets to use the term posted by political commentator Chris Hayes.

Mr Hayes wrote: "Has anyone coined 'girther' for those who believe the president weighs more than his doctor reports?"

One of the most popular tweets included a photograph purporting to show Mr Trump's driving licence listing the president as 6ft 2in, an inch shorter than Dr Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor, reported.

If Mr Trump was 6ft 2in he would have a higher BMI and would be classed as obese. 

Others posted photos of Mr Trump standing next to well-known figures in a bid to compare their heights and weights.

However some social media users hit back at the claims, pointing out that muscle weighs more than fat, while some questioned whether the online mockery amounted to "fat shaming".