A Kiwi woman shared an inspirational message about promoting positive body image after some men "pointed and laughed" at her when she took her sarong off at Mt Maunganui Beach.

Shelly Proebstel, from Waipa, posted to Facebook on her page Bald and Beautiful what happened and then listed reasons why people are insecure about their bodies.

"To the guys who pointed and laughed when I took my sarong off today at Mt Maunganui Beach, bearing my soul (my bikini body) to the world, I just want to say (excuse my language but) f*** you!," she wrote.

"It's because of dickheads like you that people are so incredibly insecure about their body image.

Callers to the Andrew Dickens Show shared there experiences of body shaming, with many asking the question why people feel the need to judge what others look like.

One woman said throughout her childhood, she had been made fun of and constantly reminded to eat more food as she was underweight.

"When I was growing up as a kid, I used to be very, very skinny. As you get older, too many people seem to judge, but you learn to get over it and not worry what other people think. It would be boring if everybody was the same size."

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