The Reading / Listening - Big Breakfasts - Level 5

There is a highly popular new way to lose weight - eat a big breakfast. It could become the biggest diet fad ever for people wanting to shed a few kilos. Researchers conducted a study on how a big breakfast affected the body's metabolism. Sixteen men ate a low-calorie breakfast and high-calorie dinner one day, and reversed this with a high-calorie breakfast the next day. Eating a bigger breakfast and smaller dinner boosted diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) - the generation of body heat to burn calories. This happened even when the total calories consumed in one day was the same.

A big breakfast led to 2.5 times higher rates of DIT. A researcher said the study showed that a big breakfast, regardless of the amount of calories it has, creates twice as much DIT as the same meal eaten for dinner. She said this, "underlines the value of eating enough at breakfast". She added: "Eating more at breakfast instead of dinner could prevent obesity and high blood sugar. We recommend that patients with obesity as well as healthy people eat a significant breakfast rather than a large dinner to reduce body weight and prevent metabolic diseases."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Big Breakfasts - Level 4 or  Big Breakfasts - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.healthline.com/health-news/a-big-breakfast-may-help-you-burn-double-the-calories#The-bottom-line
  • https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/20/eating-big-breakfast-helps-burn-double-calories-says-study-12270475/
  • https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-02-people-big-breakfast-calories.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. There is a highly popular
  2. the biggest diet
  3. shed
  4. Researchers conducted
  5. affected the body's
  6. ate a low-
  7. Eating a bigger breakfast and
  8. body
  1. calorie breakfast
  2. a study
  3. heat
  4. fad ever
  5. smaller dinner
  6. new way
  7. metabolism
  8. a few kilos

Paragraph 2

  1. 2.5 times higher
  2. regardless
  3. creates twice as
  4. Eating more at
  5. high blood
  6. patients with
  7. reduce body
  8. prevent metabolic
  1. breakfast
  2. diseases
  3. sugar
  4. of the amount
  5. weight
  6. much DIT
  7. obesity
  8. rates of DIT

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

There is a highly popular (1) ___________________ lose weight - eat a big breakfast. It could become the biggest (2) ___________________ for people wanting to shed a few kilos. Researchers (3) ___________________ on how a big breakfast affected the body's metabolism. Sixteen men ate a low-calorie breakfast and high-calorie dinner one day, (4) ___________________ with a high-calorie breakfast the next day. Eating a bigger breakfast and (5) ___________________ diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) - the generation of body heat to burn calories. This happened even when the total calories (6) ___________________ day was the same.

A big breakfast led to 2.5 (7) ___________________ of DIT. A researcher said the study showed that a big breakfast, (8) ___________________ amount of calories it has, creates twice as much DIT as the same meal eaten for dinner. She said this, "(9) ___________________ of eating enough at breakfast". She added: "Eating more at breakfast instead of dinner could prevent obesity and (10) ___________________. We recommend that patients with (11) ___________________ as healthy people eat a significant breakfast rather than a large dinner to reduce body weight and (12) ___________________."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Thereisahighlypopularnewwaytoloseweight-eatabigbreakfast.Itc
ouldbecomethebiggestdietfadeverforpeoplewantingtoshedafewkilo
s.Researchersconductedastudyonhowabigbreakfastaffectedthebod
y'smetabolism.Sixteenmenatealow-caloriebreakfastandhigh-calor
iedinneroneday,andreversedthiswithahigh-caloriebreakfastthenex
tday.Eatingabiggerbreakfastandsmallerdinnerboosteddiet-induc
edthermogenesis(DIT)-thegenerationofbodyheattoburncalories.Th
ishappenedevenwhenthetotalcaloriesconsumedinonedaywasthesa
me.Abigbreakfastledto2.5timeshigherratesofDIT.Aresearchersaidt
hestudyshowedthatabigbreakfast,regardlessoftheamountofcalories
ithas,createstwiceasmuchDITasthesamemealeatenfordinner.Shesa
idthis,"underlinesthevalueofeatingenoughatbreakfast".Sheadded:"
Eatingmoreatbreakfastinsteadofdinnercouldpreventobesityandhigh
bloodsugar.Werecommendthatpatientswithobesityaswellashealthy
peopleeatasignificantbreakfastratherthanalargedinnertoreducebod
yweightandpreventmetabolicdiseases."

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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