Gigi Hadid: "I Will Not Explain The Way My Body Looks"

Gigi Hadid took to Twitter last night to quiet critics who had been vocal about the fluctuation of her weight in recent years.

In a series of tweets she explained that her body has changed due to Hashimoto's disease, a condition in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. Hadid revealed to the public that she suffered from the illness for the first time in December 2016.

"For those of you so determined to come up with why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started at 17 I was not yet diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease," she wrote on the social media platform. "Those of you who called me 'too big for the industry' were seeing inflammation and water retention due to that."

The model, who has walked the catwalk for Jeremy Scott, Bottega Veneta, Brandon Maxwell and Prabal Gurung during the current New York Fashion Week shows, went on to explain her ongoing treatment for Hashimoto's: "Over the last few years I've been properly medicated to help symptoms including those, as well as extreme fatigue, metabolism issues, [the] body's ability to retain heat. I was also part of a holistic medical trial that helped my thyroid levels balance out."

For those of you so determined to come up w why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started @ 17 I was not yet diagnosed w/Hashimoto’s disease; those of u who called me “too big for the industry” were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that.

"Although stress and excessive travel can also affect the body, I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better," she added. "I may be 'too skinny' for you, honestly this skinny isn't what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and I'm still learning and growing with my body every day, as everyone is."

The Vogue cover girl continued: "I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesn't suit your 'beauty' expectation, shouldn't have to. Not to judge others, but drugs are not my thing, stop putting me in that box just because you don't understand the way my body has matured."

She ended the Twitter trail by urging her followers to be empathetic to others: "Please, as social media users and human beings in general, learn to have more empathy for others and know that you never really know the whole story. Use your energy to lift those that you admire rather than be cruel to those you don't."

I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesnt suit ur “beauty” expectation, shouldnt have to. Not to judge others, but drugs are not my thing, stop putting me in that box just because u dont understand the way my body has matured.

This is not the first time Hadid has responded to internet trolls who have shared their negative opinions of her body with her. In 2015 she posted a statement on Instagram, saying that she is human, and the negativity does get to her. High-profile friends, including fellow model Lily Aldridge, Ruby Rose and Chrissy Teigen, have bestowed their support on the model by sharing messages of body positivity with her on Twitter.