Gigi Hadid reveals her struggle with autoimmune disease and shuts down body critics on Twitter

Autoimmune diseases, a class of disorders in which the immune system attacks native and useful cells as well as invaders, have been on the rise. More than 23.5 million Americans are affected by autoimmune disease, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and 80 percent of them are women, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reported. Included in that vast statistic are some familiar faces.

Joining the ranks of celebs like Gina Rodriguez and Zoe Saldana, Gigi Hadid recently revealed her struggles with Hashimoto’s disease, a thyroid-related autoimmune disorder that’s associated with fatigue, depression, and weight gain (among other symptoms). Hadid took to Twitter last night to impart some knowledge to the peanut gallery that had been passing judgement on her body.

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.

Over the last few years I’ve been properly medicated to help symptoms including those, as well as extreme fatigue, metabolism issues, body’s ability to retain heat, etc … I was also part of a holistic medical trial that helped my thyroid levels balance out.

Although stress & 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. I may be “too skinny” for u, honestly this skinny isn’t what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and (cont)

(cont) am still learning and growing with my body everyday, as everyone is.

After appearing in a slew of shows at New York Fashion Week, the model’s body came under scrutiny for her perceived weight loss, which commentators questioned and attributed to drug usage. Hadid then took to Twitter to shed some light on Hashimoto’s disease and how it impacts her body—which she also wrote will be the last time she explains the way her body looks.

Questioning or commenting on someone’s physicality is always in bad taste. Let Hadid’s situation serve as a reminder that many people are dealing with seemingly “invisible” issues, and they have a right to keep those private.

Read about how singer, mental-health advocate, and the face of Coach Selena Gomez has been battling Lupus.