Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lena Dunham is the creator, writer and star of HBO drama Girls

Lena Dunham has hit back after criticism about her recent weight loss.

The star and creator of HBO's Girls has attracted headlines recently about her dramatic new look.

But in a lengthy Instagram post, she said her weight loss "isn't some sign I've finally given in to the voices of trolls".

"Right now I'm struggling to control my endometriosis through a healthy diet and exercise," she explained. "So my weight loss isn't a triumph."

The 30-year-old wrote: "I feel I've made it pretty clear over the years that I don't [care] what anyone else feels about my body."

Image copyright AP Image caption Dunham [R] appeared recently with personal trainer Tracy Anderson

Image copyright AP Image caption She is outspoken about the airbrushing of images

The actress is well-known for speaking out about her weight.

She once criticised a magazine who she thought had altered her picture to make her look thinner (it hadn't), and earlier this year she praised Glamour for not airbrushing her figure.

Writing on Instagram on Friday, Dunham said: "I've gone on red carpets in couture as a size 14. I've done sex scenes days after surgery, mottled with scars.

'Proud of what this body has seen and done'

"I've accepted that my body is an ever-changing organism, not a fixed entity - what goes up must come down and vice versa.

"I smile just as wide no matter my current size because I'm proud of what this body has seen and done and represented."

The actress also said she had a problem with media features featuring before and after pictures, adding: "Don't we have infinitely more pressing news to attend to?"

Image copyright AP / Getty Images Image caption Jennifer Lawrence and Keira Knightley have also spoken out

Dunham is far from the first actress to have had her weight scrutinised in the media.

In 2013, Jennifer Lawrence has said "it should be illegal to call someone fat on TV", after red carpet criticism of her own figure.

"Because why is humiliating people funny?" the actress asked.

Keira Knightley won £3,000 in damages from the Daily Mail in 2007, when the paper published an article about her weight.

A photograph of Knightley, who was 22 at the time, was printed alongside an article about a girl who had died of anorexia.

The actress's solicitor said "deeply offensive" suggestions could imply Knightley had an eating disorder and bore responsibility for the girl's death.

Image copyright Getty Images

Last week, Gabourey Sidibe revealed she had undergone a gastric band procedure to improve her health.

In her new memoir, This is Just My Face, the Empire star writes: "I did not get this surgery to be beautiful. I did it so I can walk around comfortably in heels."

"I want to do a cartwheel. I want not to be in pain every time I walk up a flight of stairs."

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