TV personality Louise Wallace has defended her much-maligned comments about the “normalized” solution to obesity, saying she had received messages of support.

His social media comments were made in response to two-time Olympian Dame Valerie Adams saying Wallace’s comments, made on The AM Show on Wednesday, were “disgusting”.

Wallace received swift backlash after suggesting that one way to take action against national obesity would be to “tape people’s mouths together.”

Adams posted on Instagram telling Wallace to “cut up” in a now-deleted Instagram post.

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“So many young girls already have body image issues and you come out saying this BS… You need to educate yourself about the human body and realize the extent of the damage you are causing by making these comments on national television,” Adams wrote.

She asked if she should stick on her mouth, since her dress size was larger than 12 – the size Wallace had identified as “normal”.

Wallace replied on Saturday afternoon that she was “[h]I’d like to cut myself if it helps,” but said she was asked “as a social commentator” to give her opinion.

“I was asked for my opinion on our appalling obesity statistics and I gave it. I am not a dietitian, personal trainer, nutritionist or health care professional, and I do not claim be.

She said she chose to “say what I really felt” and had “so many wonderful and inspiring messages from people who have decided to start a weight loss journey.”