The 26-year-old made the comments during a discussion over recent pictures of Gaga that appeared in the tabloids, showing her self-confessed "weight gain".
"I thought, well I don't really care if they think I'm fat, because, quite honestly, I did gain about 30 pounds," Gaga told Stylist magazine. "Adele is bigger than me, how come nobody says anything about it? She's so wonderful and I think her confidence is something I have to match. She has set the bar very high for a lot of women. I need to be a confident woman and just say politically-active things when I can that are helpful to young people."
The pictures in question - of Gaga on stage during her current Born This Way Ball tour - surfaced in the papers last month, prompting a reaction which the singer described as "ridiculous".
"I was acutely aware of some photos on the internet - my mum called me and was like, 'Did you gain weight?' - everybody was telling me about it, and I didn't really care," said the singer. "But when I heard it was on the news, where they talk about wars, the economy crashing and the election - I just thought, 'This is f*cking ridiculous'. I mean, what kind of example is that to a young girl sitting at home?"