Tamil Nadu teen dies after alleged 3-month juice-only diet he saw on YouTube

A 17-year-old boy from Colachel in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district died of suspected suffocation at his residence on Thursday, with his family linking the death to an extreme diet plan he had been following for the last three months.

The deceased, Saktheeswaran, was described by his family as healthy and active, and had been on a self-imposed fruit juice-only diet, reportedly inspired by a video he watched on YouTube. His family told doctors and police that he had not consulted any medical or nutritional expert before undertaking the drastic dietary change. They added that he had also been on certain unspecified medication and had recently taken up working out.

According to his family, Saktheeswaran had been consuming only fruit juice, entirely avoiding solid food, in an attempt to follow the online diet regimen. On Thursday, he suddenly complained of breathlessness and collapsed at home. He was declared dead shortly afterwards.

Doctors are currently examining the autopsy report to verify the exact cause of death. While suffocation has been mentioned as a possible reason, it has not yet been medically established whether the boy’s death was caused by improper diet planning.

In a similar incident which occurred in March 2025, an 18-year-old girl from Kerala’s Kannur district, died due to health complications caused by severe dietary restrictions and prolonged starvation, reportedly driven by her fear of gaining weight. The teen, identified as Sreenanda, a resident of Koothuparamba, passed away while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Thalassery, where she had been on ventilator support. She had previously been admitted to Kozhikode Medical College for treatment as well.

According to her relatives, Sreenanda had been skipping meals and excessively exercising out of an intense fear of weight gain. She was reportedly following diet plans suggested by online platforms and had been surviving on a water diet, eventually reaching a state of extreme starvation. She was a first-year undergraduate student at Mattannur Pazhassiraja NSS College.

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