Sundhedskapital blandt danske sundhedsprofessionelle: En kvantitativ og kvalitativ undersøgelse af kropsopfattelser og distinktion blandt forskere, klinikere og studerende i Danmark

We examine bodily health investments among professionals and students from the Danish health sector using a mixed methods approach. By means of multiple correspondence analysis with 345 respondents and 30 interviews, the focal point of our analysis is the concept of embodied health capital, which we claim can explain how individuals perceive and invest in their bodies differently. We typify health capital with five distinctive modes of body investment: the surgical body, the chemical body, the nutritional body, the physical body, and the mental body. Health capital has potential as a new form of capital that compensates or subsidizes other capitals. It can be deployed in positions in different fields and in social space, including in Danish healthcare field. The physical and nutritional body are special objects of investment. Young and less educated groups apply an instrumental body perception whereas older and higher educated groups apply a naturalistic body view.