Seven of the ten best-selling titles at the Danish online bookseller Saxo on Wednesday were books about health, diet and the body. Saxo says it has never seen health titles dominate its August list in this way.
DR reported on August 20 that Saxo’s overall bestseller list was filled with titles on health, diet, the body and the nervous system. Among them were “Sundhed indefra”, “Spis.Mere.Grønt.Nu.” and “30 styrkende dage”.
Saxo’s communications manager, Camilla Leyla Lind, told DR that she has never seen health books dominate August like this. She has worked in the publishing industry for more than 10 years. According to Lind, the pattern normally appears in January, when readers look to compensate for heavy Christmas eating.
Lind described the August rise in health-title sales as wild and said staff at Saxo are all surprised. She noted that some of the titles have not even been released yet, with publication due the following week. Saxo launched a campaign on the day of DR’s report to push the trend, but according to Lind there was no other activation behind the sales.
Jon Fuglsang, a lecturer and food sociologist at Copenhagen Professionshøjskole, told the DR program “K-live” that the titles are clearly built around diet, the body and nutrition. He said the books express a wish to eat in a particular way. He drew a parallel to around 10 years ago, when interest in popular diets was extreme.
By 2016 and 2017, according to Fuglsang, readers had grown tired of diet experts. Some of the advice from that period was outright misinformation, while other parts were sound but hard to put into practice. He added that body norms have since broadened beyond a single ideal.
Fuglsang offered one explanation for the timing. He pointed to the missing routines and structures of the summer holidays, which can leave people wanting habits back. Many feel they have let go for long enough, and have been in settings where indulgence was expected.
Bookstore chain reports no similar rise
The retail chain Bog & Idé told DR that “30 styrkende dage” is currently its best-selling book. The chain said it has not seen a general increase in sales of health titles, unlike the surge reported by Saxo.
Commentator Anne Sophia Hermansen registered Saxo’s health-heavy top-10 list in Weekendavisen and called for a nobler purpose. She wrote that the wish to improve is not new, but that the ancient Stoics aimed to become just, loyal and honest. In her reading, the health books aim instead at a better gut flora, which she described as self-centered.
A product listing on PriceRunner shows that “30 styrkende dage med protein + fiber” was published on August 13, 2026. The title is listed in the food and drink category.
