Gigi Hadid recently shared a silhouetted image of herself on Instagram, which saw her stood in front of a stunning tropical backdrop.

However, while the majority of her followers cooed over the scenery, others focused solely on the 21-year-old’s weight.

Hadid was not prepared to take their comments lying down, and, taking to the comments section herself, she called them out for what's known as ‘skinny-shaming’.

The 21-year-old wrote: “It's called growing up. Bodies change as girls become women, just as my mum’s body changed at the same age.

“Having my body judged over the span of the four teen-to-woman years has really shown me the human tendency to label and make uneducated judgement.

"Meanwhile, I loved my body as a 17-year-old athlete and I love my body now. Yes, I've lost some 'baby fat,' but muscle mass from my intensive volleyball training in high school has changed over the years into lean muscle from boxing, and work stress can have its affect [sic], but purposefully changing my body has never been my thing. I still eat what I want, I'm still strong, and I'm still healthy.”

She continued: “Your comment won't get me down, but next time, please think about the young women who may read body-judgement comments and judge themselves as they see their bodies growing and therefore naturally changing, too.”

It is not the first time that Hadid has been forced to address body-shaming trolls online.

At the end of September 2015, she found herself under fire for being “too curvy” for the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week.

The teenager penned a thoughtful essay on the topic, sharing it as a screenshot on her Instagram account.

“Yes I have boobs, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs, but I'm not asking for special treatment," she wrote.

“I'm fitting into the sample sizes. Your mean comments don't make me want to change my body, they don't make me want to say no to the designers that ask me to be in their shows, and they definitely don't change the designers opinions of me.”

Her words touched many people, including Tyra Banks, who shared the message on her own social media accounts.

She wrote: “I haven't met you yet@gigihadid but I FEEL you so much. Your words are powerful. Your words are necessary. Your words are vulnerable. Your words are real.

“Sending you love and hugs. From one model that had curves and a unique walk to another, Tyra.”

And Ashley Graham, who dubbed Hadid’s post as “compelling”, added: “Thank you @GiGiHadid for your love and realness on body love and acceptance.”

Hadid has often promoted body positivity on her social media accounts, despite the constant barrage of conflicting insults she receives.

Previously speaking to Helena Suric on the Vogue podcast, she explained: “I’ll post a picture and one person will say I’m too fat and three comments down someone's calling me anorexic.

“So it happens to everyone. We all go through it and no one’s alone in that for sure.”

Images: Rex Pictures / Instagram