20-year-old Prakriti Shetty was an MBBS student at the A.J Hospital

She jumped from her hostel building to her death

A case has been filed with the Kadri Police station

20-year-old Prakriti Shetty was a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) student at the A.J Hospital Medical Sciences and Research Centre located along National Highway 66, in the Kuntikan area of the Mangaluru city in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. 

She jumped from her hostel building to her death. She left behind a suicide note that detailed her reasons for taking such a drastic step. “I am very fat. I have a desire to complete my MBBS course. My weight has been an obstacle for me in terms of having good looks. I have made several attempts to reduce my weight. None of the attempts thus far have borne fruit. This has made me severely depressed,” she expressed in her note. A case has been filed with the Kadri Police station with regard to this incident. 

The body positivity movement challenges preset cultural notions of beauty. Body dissatisfaction has a wide range of mental health related issues attached with it. These include anorexia, bulimia, body image disturbance and body dysmorphic disorder. It is therefore very essential to understand that self worth must not be attached to one’s look as it may have contrasting effects on different people and during different moods.