Why did people body-shame this toddler?

When a proud mum uploaded a picture of her 14-month-old daughter to an online forum, she never suspected the tot would be body-shamed.

But the photo generated a stream of negative comments from people calling the little girl "fat".

Taking to Reddit forum BeyondTheBump, the dismayed mother explained: "My fiance posted a picture of our daughter on Daddit yesterday and I accidentally published it to Imgur."

The image was inadvertently shared to Imgur where users began to post cruel comments. Photo / Reddit

"Two people said she was unhealthily overweight and that we should take better care of her. My 14 month old. Who is perfectly healthy and thriving at a normal weight," she wrote.

"Chunky babies run in both of our families.

"It makes me so sad that at one year old, she is already getting negative comments about her weight."

Reddit users were quick to offer support:

"Nothing cuter than a chunky baby. People online just like to be nasty for no reason sometimes," said one commenter.

"Omg those rolls are outta control adorable," another wrote.

Another shared her struggles with her own children who were trying to gain weight.

"My girls are really small and have trouble gaining weight - I would be THRILLED if they looked like her in a couple months [sic]! Good grief she's adorable."

The mother and father have since deleted their Reddit account.