+{"title":"Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?","img":"https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1200xn/p0m8hz3r.jpg","url":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2025/ep-251030","audio":"https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/6min/251030_6_minute_english_is_breakfast_the_most_important_meal_of_the_day_download.mp3","intro":["How do you like your eggs in the morning? Or do you prefer toast, cereal, yogurt or something else? Maybe you usually don't bother with breakfast! Well, some experts believe that a large breakfast could be the key to maintaining healthy eating habits. Georgie and Phil discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary."],"this_week_question":["According to a recent survey, which of the following is the most popular breakfast in the UK?","a) eggs b) toast c) cereal","Listen to the programme to hear the answer."],"vocab":[{"text":"pauper","desc":"old-fashioned word for a very poor person spike sudden increase in a value being measured metabolism the chemical processes inside the human body, especially those which process food skip deliberately miss something, or not do it lean not fat appetite control how your brain decides how much you should eat"}],"transcript":[{"author":"Georgie","text":"Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Georgie. Phil And I'm Phil. Did you have any breakfast today, Georgie, or did you skip it? Georgie I did have some breakfast. On the way to the office, I got myself a pastry and a coffee. What about you? Phil I had a big bowl of porridge, but it was at six o'clock this morning so I'm hungry again now. And you might soon be hungry as well because we're going to talk about breakfast. How important is it? Let's start by hearing from Professor Alexandra Johnstone, a nutrition scientist who spoke to Ruth Alexander, host of BBC World Service programme The Food Chain. Professor Alexandra Johnstone I am supporting the meme 'breakfast like a king and dine like a pauper '. Ruth Alexander For you then, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Professor Alexandra Johnstone I agree. So, it's really important, particularly for people who are trying to maintain a healthy weight and people who are trying to lose weight. Phil Alexandra says that you should 'breakfast like a king and dine like a pauper '. Pauper is an old-fashioned word for a very poor person. The expression means have a big breakfast and a small dinner. Georgie We're going to find out some of the reasons that Alexandra and other experts recommend doing this. Phil And as usual, we'll learn some useful new words and phrases. And remember \u2013 you'll find all the vocabulary and a quiz on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Georgie OK. But first I have a question for you, Phil. According to a recent survey, which of the following is the most popular breakfast in the UK? Is it: a) eggs, b) toast, or c) cereal? Phil Well, I think people like to keep it simple so I'm going to say toast. Georgie OK. Well, we'll find out the answer later in the programme. Let's hear some reasons for why we should breakfast like a king or queen. Courtney Peterson, who researches eating behaviours, explains how the time of day affects how our bodies process food, on BBC World Service programme The Food Chain: Courtney Peterson And so, if you can eat a large breakfast in the morning, and/or I would even say a large lunch in the morning, your body's going to be better at metabolising that food. And what that means is your body's going to actually\u2026 your blood sugar levels won't spike as high, you might burn slightly more fat, you might burn slightly more calories from eating earlier in the day. Whereas if you had\u2026 if you eat most of your food later in the day, your metabolism is actually slower later in the day. So, for instance, if you ate the same, I don't know, bowl of ice cream in the morning, the afternoon and the evening, your blood sugar levels will spike significantly higher in the afternoon and the evening. Phil We heard the noun metabolism . This is a word that refers to the chemical processes in your body, and we most often use it to talk about those that convert food into energy. And we also heard had the verb form \u2013 metabolise . Georgie Courtney talked about blood sugar levels spiking . A spike is a sharp, pointed shape. If you see it on a line graph, it means that something has increased very rapidly. We often use the noun spike to mean a sudden increase in a value that is being measured. The verb spike means to suddenly increase. Phil We've heard that eating earlier in the day can be healthier for us. Now, people often don't eat breakfast, sometimes because they don't have time and sometimes because they are trying to save money. Let's hear again from Professor Alexandra Johnstone, talking to BBC World Service's The Food Chain. Professor Alexandra Johnstone Now, breakfast skipping is interesting because my own work would tend to suggest \u2013 and that sort of observational, large-scale, epidemiological studies would also support this \u2013 that people who have a regular breakfast are actually leaner . And my own work would tend to suggest that having your largest meal of the day in the morning period gives you a much better appetite control , which then means it's much easier to control food intake later in the day. Georgie Alexandra starts by mentioning 'breakfast skipping '. If you skip something, then you don't do it. Bad students might skip lessons \u2013 they don't go to them. If you skip a meal, it means that you don't eat it. Phil We also heard that people who have a regular breakfast are leaner . If someone is lean , then they're not fat. Georgie And one of the reasons given why people might be leaner is that they have better appetite control . Appetite control is where your brain decides how much you should eat. Phil Thanks, Georgie. Now, I think it's time that we heard the answer to your question. Georgie Yes, it is. OK. I asked, \"According to a recent survey, what is the most popular breakfast in the UK?\" Phil And I said, \"Toast.\" Georgie \u2026which was the most popular in London, but the most popular in the country as a whole was cereal, and that's according to a survey by a cereal manufacturer. So, I'm afraid you got it wrong. OK. Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with pauper , which is an old-fashioned word for a very poor person. Phil When we're talking about data, it spikes when it increases suddenly. Georgie Metabolism refers to the chemical processes inside your body, especially those which process food. Phil If you skip something, you miss it; you don't do it. Georgie If someone is lean , then they are not fat. Phil And finally, appetite control is how your brain decides how much you should eat. Once again, our six minutes are up, but why not head over to our website, bbclearningenglish.com, to try the quiz and worksheet for this episode? See you again soon. Georgie Goodbye! Phil Bye!"}],"authors":["Georgie"],"wave_peaks":[4053,8775,9325,26832,26304,24467,17293,21105,13450,25928,18351,20033,18508,17320,15226,21456,16315,9518,2433,2290,2190,1246,1224,1211,1178,59,17413,15303,11014,12917,16341,16191,14563,13318,12665,11211,15128,13812,9578,17191,16548,7602,18121,567,11326,12064,9796,11201,5320,5283,2268,2188,4059,6319,3941,1248,20604,23654,21894,8596,9103,5772,11892,12352,13480,8292,13147,8380,4187,7893,5967,8222,10736,12129,9702,17012,16982,20377,7229,13105,23652,16379,16653,12049,11046,10141,3150,7348,388,4225,4112,4364,4034,6539,12736,10635,8856,8729,8429,6670,4699,2099,17623,8130,10270,8751,5665,5853,7240,14826,9039,8400,3735,7176,8425,8197,10732,15967,5092,1179,973,8077,10435,7446,8511,3331,233,680,8978,16046,8829,7136,10355,7705,7075,6964,8599,4613,5770,10406,9546,8701,5639,3686,7179,7441,9972,9870,1139,6915,4612,7460,4331,12307,8672,6347,12409,8989,8514,5587,5133,633,3,32,23582,23894,17655,16978,13257,10546,8560,18765,7126,13171,13190,8348,14148,14897,8915,17254,16446,3445,16185,18109,11009,28165,12472,12810,16668,10639,13865,14146,10469,391,20129,19436,14652,9533,15205,16090,10338,13533,13733,14859,567,16592,16722,15953,11440,10434,9174,12084,12828,11014,1553,12350,14501,15862,9097,11439,12648,10862,9218,9194,6254,710,679,26627,20697,11200,6723,7872,13284,8361,7749,8767,2962,9446,8634,8551,8603,6682,4268,2370,136,14874,18021,9116,11098,14230,7880,6121,11586,8116,10472,3107,1225,9923,10149,9547,7677,6223,10573,17566,20710,13061,4381,5943,10918,7543,67,18835,18694,28175,14955,16000,8862,25351,18420,10046,8308,25965,13894,9737,11090,8213,10070,4854,10484,15006,12688,15084,18373,20014,7799,9671,7808,10938,12128,9086,1271,6390,8439,14011,14581,11567,15506,19025,12795,9381,919,11503,10381,12523,147,6856,19482,13414,3323,10715,7203,4109,7816,14310,5894,7248,2171,10443,12066,22865,28492,20649,15780,11838,8133,11331,16587,21852,889,18533,16490,10144,6189,16451,15029,12394,12731,10965,7953,10650,9901,8327,19034,9444,5341,4693,8749,17689,616,12500,10677,8493,17802,20750,3776,1352,17435,5096,16930,6659,13071,15570,14287,5937,12421,8979,4669,5945,12882,19340,24643,7652,16280,22953,24578,19221,16211,12529,10872,516,93,6309,6891,246,12144,32767,8997,25039,19346,7770,6575,10894,10178,17597,17955,16501,20483,16033,15380,12944,19581,11698,15766,16520,9475,10069,9273,8818,2803,15100,17405,13177,10313,20587,13098,7529,9091,9784,3105,22148,25639,14013,11441,13297,12509,14501,10658,9957,7768,7220,12462,15807,2283,14509,13576,17132,19015,11872,9754,10184,9311,11458,100,224,11921,19612,6791,16717,14298,11786,18013,20892,20150,9601,13131,8461,603,14833,13658,18010,9519,11057,17559,4574,19148,7821,11635,5990,23967,26422,15381,22979,19566,13750,7188,6843,502,24799,25825,14230,22398,25364,14036,17935,9894,13282,23642,22655,7519,20485,15942,18686,72,14968,9550,23947,21271,22392,21862,22291,17057,22640,10197,26324,12213,7019,13243,8774,7419,5562,850,25157,20932,14493,25423,23144,9941,13350,13606,12325,14836,13679,17881,20132,17685,8286,20706,10713,11760,10893,12867,9466,16107,13200,17865,10562,171,24671,15016,22879,24484,11689,11714,14500,12207,25345,9391,7082,12661,12757,21366,10830,15727,7165,27511,7615,13702,10780,21970,19520,13262,11634,5515,7156,499,50,22207,18859,17301,16640,9786,11376,3611,16124,10474,14887,5953,12448,8017,8172,11724,7907,7272,8102,12682,6038,304,17231,18541,9095,8384,6675,20757,18121,9434,8843,9356,11351,6432,4482,6986,4091,415,15668,18627,13154,10974,14155,6668,7027,10563,10588,4635,1719,2321,13277,9185,20184,15443,10517,11316,6445,9043,8542,2830,7403,16636,11656,12255,15878,5347,16455,18763,7107,19200,15545,19583,20157,8443,11713,9291,8635,8159,6848,17414,17349,10069,439,15648,8761,12279,13243,17688,15350,8703,6848,11247,7854,4777,10663,9251,8670,14952,16046,3221,14315,14947,17858,15973,10767,9539,12006,5559,7288,3616,1047,19652,18349,14241,10214,8809,17260,11980,10852,7821,8196,14027,7344,4686,237,10143,3115,10724,11955,11148,17543,13668,4553,2014,12685,13205,6821,8982,7141,16146,15972,12176,11831,7691,8015,5114,3714,13332,9424,17156,12306,17339,6920,9466,12516,10620,10067,7210,3174,9004,8306,13968,7949,17408,15467,8212,6827,5336,3642,2894,176,2,16979,20545,1338,19703,15801,16109,20064,13614,12416,13765,13065,827,13379,17866,12672,13805,15386,5290,7922,11897,7845,8545,15406,18154,17543,17306,14268,14856,11841,15140,14449,7471,266,16110,14987,16835,16344,6319,11077,18657,11231,15996,14742,18214,19154,471,18335,13547,16580,15458,13258,11884,16435,8757,17033,16285,16416,8628,7610,3273,389,19253,17725,20636,12632,14428,13864,5843,465,14562,10964,14656,13857,15889,7240,14528,7801,10705,4103,16396,386,20222,18325,13534,15496,17260,8847,8095,8716,13685,6387,333,12122,16282,15896,10069,6905,7365,2839,189,19510,12102,13854,20602,18907,8632,18486,18538,10051,16574,10232,536,18765,19417,15842,10785,8102,12140,11270,10617,10900,310,7530,12483,12991,10058,7786,16531,15052,9553,14337,2523,53,3159,22773,16583,22066,9196,9876,5296,6969,5756,7681,10862,1561,12006,11594,18260,10150,17420,16054,19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this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Georgie. Phil And I'm Phil. Did you have any breakfast today, Georgie, or did you skip it? Georgie I did have some breakfast. On the way to the office, I got myself a pastry and a coffee. What about you? Phil I had a big bowl of porridge, but it was at six o'clock this morning so I'm hungry again now. And you might soon be hungry as well because we're going to talk about breakfast. How important is it? Let's start by hearing from Professor Alexandra Johnstone, a nutrition scientist who spoke to Ruth Alexander, host of BBC World Service programme The Food Chain. Professor Alexandra Johnstone I am supporting the meme 'breakfast like a king and dine like a pauper '. Ruth Alexander For you then, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Professor Alexandra Johnstone I agree. So, it's really important, particularly for people who are trying to maintain a healthy weight and people who are trying to lose weight. Phil Alexandra says that you should 'breakfast like a king and dine like a pauper '. Pauper is an old-fashioned word for a very poor person. The expression means have a big breakfast and a small dinner. Georgie We're going to find out some of the reasons that Alexandra and other experts recommend doing this. Phil And as usual, we'll learn some useful new words and phrases. And remember \u2013 you'll find all the vocabulary and a quiz on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Georgie OK. But first I have a question for you, Phil. According to a recent survey, which of the following is the most popular breakfast in the UK? Is it: a) eggs, b) toast, or c) cereal? Phil Well, I think people like to keep it simple so I'm going to say toast. Georgie OK. Well, we'll find out the answer later in the programme. Let's hear some reasons for why we should breakfast like a king or queen. Courtney Peterson, who researches eating behaviours, explains how the time of day affects how our bodies process food, on BBC World Service programme The Food Chain: Courtney Peterson And so, if you can eat a large breakfast in the morning, and/or I would even say a large lunch in the morning, your body's going to be better at metabolising that food. And what that means is your body's going to actually\u2026 your blood sugar levels won't spike as high, you might burn slightly more fat, you might burn slightly more calories from eating earlier in the day. Whereas if you had\u2026 if you eat most of your food later in the day, your metabolism is actually slower later in the day. So, for instance, if you ate the same, I don't know, bowl of ice cream in the morning, the afternoon and the evening, your blood sugar levels will spike significantly higher in the afternoon and the evening. Phil We heard the noun metabolism . This is a word that refers to the chemical processes in your body, and we most often use it to talk about those that convert food into energy. And we also heard had the verb form \u2013 metabolise . Georgie Courtney talked about blood sugar levels spiking . A spike is a sharp, pointed shape. If you see it on a line graph, it means that something has increased very rapidly. We often use the noun spike to mean a sudden increase in a value that is being measured. The verb spike means to suddenly increase. Phil We've heard that eating earlier in the day can be healthier for us. Now, people often don't eat breakfast, sometimes because they don't have time and sometimes because they are trying to save money. Let's hear again from Professor Alexandra Johnstone, talking to BBC World Service's The Food Chain. Professor Alexandra Johnstone Now, breakfast skipping is interesting because my own work would tend to suggest \u2013 and that sort of observational, large-scale, epidemiological studies would also support this \u2013 that people who have a regular breakfast are actually leaner . And my own work would tend to suggest that having your largest meal of the day in the morning period gives you a much better appetite control , which then means it's much easier to control food intake later in the day. Georgie Alexandra starts by mentioning 'breakfast skipping '. If you skip something, then you don't do it. Bad students might skip lessons \u2013 they don't go to them. If you skip a meal, it means that you don't eat it. Phil We also heard that people who have a regular breakfast are leaner . If someone is lean , then they're not fat. Georgie And one of the reasons given why people might be leaner is that they have better appetite control . Appetite control is where your brain decides how much you should eat. Phil Thanks, Georgie. Now, I think it's time that we heard the answer to your question. Georgie Yes, it is. OK. I asked, \"According to a recent survey, what is the most popular breakfast in the UK?\" Phil And I said, \"Toast.\" Georgie \u2026which was the most popular in London, but the most popular in the country as a whole was cereal, and that's according to a survey by a cereal manufacturer. So, I'm afraid you got it wrong. OK. Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with pauper , which is an old-fashioned word for a very poor person. Phil When we're talking about data, it spikes when it increases suddenly. Georgie Metabolism refers to the chemical processes inside your body, especially those which process food. Phil If you skip something, you miss it; you don't do it. Georgie If someone is lean , then they are not fat. Phil And finally, appetite control is how your brain decides how much you should eat. Once again, our six minutes are up, but why not head over to our website, bbclearningenglish.com, to try the quiz and worksheet for this episode? See you again soon. Georgie Goodbye! Phil Bye!"]}],"duration":372}
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