A new reality series follows the life of a 380lb dancer as she tries to debunk common misconceptions about obesity.

Whitney Thore, 30, launched into fame earlier this year when a YouTube video of her called A Fat Girl Dancing went viral, amassing more than 5.7million views to date.

TLC's new show My Big Fat Fabulous Life will chronicle the life of the Greensboro, North Carolina native as she tries to dance her way to physical fitness, all while empowering women who feel guilty or ashamed of their bodies.

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Fat and fabulous! A new reality series called My Big Fat Fabulous Life follows the life of 380lb YouTube dancing star Whitney Thore, 30, as she tries to debunk common misconceptions about obesity

Transformation: An endocrine disorder called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) caused Whitney to gain more than 100lbs within four years in her teens

'There's P.C. terms for everything these days, but fat people are fair game,' Whitney says in a preview for the series. 'Someone has to fight for us!'

In the clip, Whitney explains that she was slender in her teens, weighing a healthy 114lbs when she began high school.

But due to an endocrine disorder called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which she was only diagnosed with later in life, she began gaining weight rapidly over the years and struggled to lose it.

Flashback: Whitney (left, with a friend, and right) explains that she was a slender dancer in her teens, weighing a healthy 114lbs when she began high school

Quick judgments: These days, due to the PCOS, she weighs 380lbs - even with all the exercise and dance she does. 'I hate people thinking that I'm lazy,' she says

'When I started college I started gaining weight so fast that I didn't know what was wrong with me,' she remembers, explaining that two-thirds of women with her condition are overweight or obese.

'By the end of my freshman year I'd gained 100lbs, and my entire life changed.'

Too ashamed to look at herself in the mirror, Whitney gave up dancing and 'fell into a deep depression' that lasted several years.

New start: Recently, Whitney decided to move back home with her parents (pictured), where she has launched a movement, #nobodyshamecampaign, in a bid to promote self-love and acceptance

Stay positive: 'Living with PCOS isn't easy,' she says. 'But I still have a choice in how I let it affect my attitude. I may be fat, but I am still fabulous. I have one life to live, and it damn sure better count'

Ambition: She has also taken up dancing again and started teaching a dance class for other bigger women

She struggled with eating disorders and obsessive exercise, even dropping 100lbs in eight months - only to put it back on again almost as quickly.

Looking back to when I was thin, I can't believe how much I took it for granted

'Looking back to when I was thin, I can't believe how much I took it for granted,' she admits, adding: 'I hate people thinking that I'm lazy.'

Recently, Whitney decided to move back home with her parents, where she has taken up dancing again and launched a movement, #nobodyshamecampaign, in a bid to promote self-love and acceptance.

And she has even begun teaching a dance class for other bigger women.

Sensation: Whitney launched into fame earlier this year when a YouTube video of her called A Fat Girl Dancing (pictured) went viral, amassing more than 5.7million views to date

'I love all of the positive things that came out of the videos, but it doesn't change that right now, I'm the heaviest that I've ever been in my whole life,' says Whitney.

WHAT IS POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME? PCOS is a condition in which a woman's hormones are out of balance. Thought to be genetic, it affects about one in ten women. PCOS may lead to menstrual cycle changes, cysts in the ovaries, trouble getting pregnant and other health changes. One of the most common symptoms is weight gain and trouble losing weight. Advertisement

'So I need to lose some weight so that I can do everything in life I want to do, and hopefully I can do that through dance.'

The series, which premieres in January, will follow Whitney as she lives life to the full, from wearing a bikini on the beach for the first time in a decade to going on dates and confronting online bullies who body-shame her.

'Living with PCOS isn't easy,' she says. 'But I still have a choice in how I let it affect my attitude.

'I may be fat, but I am still fabulous. I have one life to live, and it damn sure better count.'