English Listening Practice: What’s the UK’s obesity solution?
From October 2025, UK junk food ads—including roast potatoes and porridge—will be banned before 9pm to help tackle childhood obesity. Find out what’s changing and why it matters, while improving your English listening skills.
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Today's English lesson is great listening practice for English learners. You’ll learn everyday English vocabulary related to food, health, and British culture—plus, you’ll pick up handy words like junk, nutrition, and prevention. Listening to this lesson helps improve your understanding of conversational English while giving you insight into real-world issues in the UK. It’s a fun and practical way to build your language skills!
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More About This Lesson
Do you ever think about what makes food “junk”? What if I told you some of the UK's favourite dishes—like roast potatoes or even porridge—are now considered unhealthy? The UK government has drawn up a surprising list of foods banned from TV ads before 9pm, all to tackle childhood obesity. But are these beloved staples really bad for us? Let’s explore what this means for our eating habits—and how it’s shaking up our understanding of nutrition.
In this lesson, you’ll learn food-related words and phrases that are practical and easy to use, you will:
- Expand your vocabulary on food, nutrition, and British cultural dishes.
- Learn pronunciation and spelling of key words like "junk," "obesity," and "nutrition."
- Improve listening comprehension through clear, natural British English speech.
- Understand common phrases like "prevention is better than cure" in context.
- Discover British traditions while discussing government health policies.
- Practice spelling challenging words with examples provided in the lesson.
- Gain insight into conversational English through relatable, real-life topics.
- Build fluency by engaging with a topic relevant to modern culture and health.
- Enhance your confidence in discussing food and lifestyle choices in English.
- Strengthen your listening skills with a mix of vocabulary explanations and stories.
This lesson isn’t just about learning new words—it’s about understanding how food shapes culture and health in Britain. You’ll discover what foods the UK government is banning from TV ads and why it matters. From childhood obesity to changing views on nutrition, this is a chance to practice listening skills, learn useful vocabulary, and stay up to date on British life. By learning through real stories, you’ll remember these words more easily and use them confidently.
Processed foods are literally designed to hack our brain chemistry and get us addicted.
⭐ Michael Pollan
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What is junk food according to British standards? Junk food in the UK isn't just fast food anymore. According to this podcast, it now includes traditional British dishes like roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, breakfast cereals, croissants, and even fruit juices. You'll discover that modern nutritional science is reshaping how Brits define unhealthy food, focusing on refined carbohydrates and high-sugar content.
- How can I improve my English vocabulary about food while learning nutrition? By listening to podcasts like this one from Adept English, you can simultaneously expand your food-related vocabulary and understanding of nutrition. The podcast provides detailed explanations of food terms, spelling, and context. You'll learn words like "junk", "obesity", "carbohydrate", "prevention", and discover how to discuss dietary choices in British English.
- What traditional British foods are now considered unhealthy? Surprisingly, many classic British foods are now labeled as "junk food". These include crumpets, custard, hot cross buns, Danish pastries, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, and even certain breakfast cereals like Frosties and Shreddies. You'll gain insights into how nutritional understanding evolves and challenges traditional eating habits.
- How does the UK government plan to combat childhood obesity? The UK government is implementing a TV advertising ban on certain foods before 9 PM, starting in October 2025. This strategy aims to reduce children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing. You'll learn about the government's preventative approach, summarized by the health secretary's quote: "Prevention is better than cure."
- Where can I find resources to improve my English listening skills about food and nutrition? Adept English offers "Course One Activate Your Listening", which includes 5 hours of in-depth listening material specifically about food. The course provides conversations, tutorials, and vocabulary explanations. You can explore this resource to enhance your English comprehension while learning about British culinary culture and nutrition.
Most Unusual Words:
- Junk: Things with little value or use, often unwanted or not needed.
- Obesity: A condition where someone is very overweight in an unhealthy way.
- Nutrition: The process of eating food that helps your body stay healthy.
- Carbohydrate: A type of food like bread, rice, or potatoes that gives energy.
- Porridge: A hot breakfast food made by cooking oats with water or milk.
- Crumpet: A soft, round bread with holes, usually toasted and eaten with butter.
- Refined: Processed to remove unwanted parts, often making it less healthy.
- Prevention: Stopping something bad, like illness, from happening.
- Cure: Something that makes a disease or problem better or go away.
- Cholesterol: A fatty substance in the body that can be good or bad for health.
Most Frequently Used Words:
| Word | Count |
|---|---|
| Junk | 13 |
| About | 12 |
| Which | 11 |
| Foods | 9 |
| Considered | 8 |
| Roast | 8 |
| Course | 7 |
| Advertising | 6 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
Transcript: Learn English While Discussing the UK Food Advertising Ban
Are you eating ‘junk food’ without realising it?
Hi there and welcome to this podcast from Adept English. Do you like to eat junk food? That's J-U-N-K. And do you worry about whether you eat too much junk food? And what is junk food anyway? Well this week the UK government issued a list of foods which will be banned from TV advertising after [I mean 'before'!!] 9pm from October next year. That's 2025. This is an attempt by the UK government to solve the childhood obesity problem. That's O-B-E-S-I-T-Y. And 'obesity', that means someone is overweight. So we're talking here about the problem of children who are overweight or 'obese'. And it's really interesting to see what's on this government list of junk food. There are some very standard foods on there, things that we would consider 'typical British dishes'. So attitudes to food are changing. And I think this is a good direction. But let's have a look today at what foods are going to be banned from TV advertising before 9pm. What's considered 'junk food' in other words. And some of it's quite surprising. This podcast will be an opportunity for you to learn and revise your English vocabulary on food. And much of what I'm going to talk about is just the sort of food that you might want to try if you come to the UK. Our national dishes in other words.
Hello, I’m Hilary, and you’re listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.
Course One Activate Your Listening is just what you need!
And that's a great opportunity to remind you of our Course One Activate Your Listening. Which includes 5 hours of 'Listen & Learn' material. It's like the podcasts but more in depth. And one of the topics I cover in that course is 'Food'. So parts of that course are rather like podcasts. But I also do tutorials, vocabulary explanations. And much of the course is in the form of conversations between two people. You also get opportunity to practise speaking as well. So if you want to take your English conversation forward, then Course One Activate Your Listening is a brilliant course. And it will take you even further than today's podcasts in your understanding of 'Food' in English.
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What exactly do we mean by ‘junk’?
So some definitions first of all. 'Junk', J-U-N-K. It means 'things that are of little value'. And often things you end up with but which you don't want. So we talk about 'junk mail' that might come through our letterbox at home. Or it might be junk email. You probably have a folder in your email app called 'Junk Mail'. This is where all those rubbishy emails that no one wants to read - that's where they all go. And in our homes we may have 'junk'. We may have items cluttering up our rooms which once had value, once were useful but not anymore. And we really ought to get rid of them. That's 'junk'. When it comes to 'junk food', generally we mean food that might be enjoyable to eat but it has very little nutritional value. It's not doing good to our bodies! I tend to think of places like McDonald's and Burger King. That's classically what we think of as junk food. It's food I don't particularly like either but I know lots of people do.
📷
A packet of crisps abandoned on the floor of a supermarket, as junk food is rejected. Improve your English vocabulary and learn about British junk food in one fun lesson.
The ‘junk food’ you may not realise you’re eating!
So what's counted as junk food is definitely changing. On the government's list of 'junk foods' which must not be advertised before 9pm are all kinds of foods which you would be unlikely to eat when you go out or have as takeaway. They're foods that we eat at home in the UK. For example, roast potatoes must no longer be advertised before 9pm. If you're familiar with the idea of the British Roast Dinner, that's R-O-A-S-T, you may know it as roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding or it could be a chicken roast dinner. Well part of this meal will be roast potatoes and if you 'roast' something, it's a verb 'to roast', you put it in the oven and you cover it with oil and you cook it that way. It's a bit of a sad day when the roast potato is considered 'junk food' because it also forms part of our traditional Christmas dinner as well. But nutritionally it is correct. Roast potatoes are not that good for you and should be kept to a minimum. And guess what? The same goes for that British staple, the Yorkshire Pudding, now counted as 'junk food' too. Oh dear! Again, in terms of what we now understand about nutrition, that's N-U-T-R-I-T-I-O-N, we see that refined carbohydrates are the real problem in our diet. That's correct. But what a shame! 'Carbohydrate', C-A-R-B-O-H-Y-D-R-A-T-E - that's things like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and anything with white flour.
Are you eating ‘junk food’ for breakfast without realising it?
When it comes to breakfast, what's considered 'junk food', what's considered quite correctly now to be unhealthy, includes many traditional breakfast items. For example, the government advertising ban includes pretty much all breakfast cereals, that's C-E-R-E-A-L. That includes things like muesli, cornflakes, Frosties, Shreddies. It may be shocking but it's absolutely right to ban advertising of these foods. And even good old porridge, P-O-R-R-I-D-G-E - that's on the banned list too! Made from oats, that's what lots of people eat for breakfast. But now porridge is a 'junk food'. So what should you eat for breakfast? Well for many people, an egg on toast or avocado on toast or mushrooms on toast - that's a much better choice that doesn't send your blood sugar 'sky high' for the rest of the day!
French croissants, pains au chocolat and British crumpets get a re-brand - all are now ‘junk food’!
And I guess fairly predictably on this list of banned foods that mustn't be advertised to children - ice cream, sweets and chocolate. But the list also includes crisps and snacks, cakes and doughnuts, that's D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T-S, and biscuits and even protein bars which are advertised as 'healthy'. But of course they're not really, so the advertising ban is correct. Also on the list of 'junk foods' I'm afraid, the French croissant and the pain au chocolat. I'm sorry about that! But these are now on the list - not what our children should be eating. If it makes it any easier, there are foods which we're very attached to in the UK - there are traditional foods which are also on the list. Things like crumpets, C-R-U-M-P-E-T. If you've ever had hot buttered crumpets - they're delicious. But they're on the list alongside custard, Danish pastries and hot cross buns. What will we do at Easter?
And don’t think you’re safe with yoghurt and fruit juice!
And surprising to some people, not only are sugary drinks on the list, but actual fruit juice too. When I was growing up and my children were growing up, it was considered healthy to drink orange juice or apple juice in the morning as part of your breakfast. Not anymore. There's too much sugar and not enough fibre in those drinks. Much better to have a cup of coffee, it seems. And it's the same with yogurt, Y-O-G-H-U-R-T. If it's got sugar in it, it's considered 'junk food'. Only unsweetened yogurt is OK.
The story of ‘what causes ill health’ has changed. Out with ‘low fat’ and in with ‘low carb’
In many ways, I'm glad about this. I look at this list of foods which must not be advertised before 9pm. And I'm pleased because I can see that more recent science, more recent knowledge about what's healthy and what's unhealthy - it's been factored in, it's been taken on board. I don't know if you've ever listened to my podcast, 605, from January 2023? In it, I talk about having a cholesterol test. C-H-O-L-E-S-T-E-R-O-L. And I talked about getting very frustrated with the very questionable advice given to me by an NHS nurse who told me to "eat a low-fat diet to keep my cholesterol down"! She also said I must "only follow advice from the NHS website, not look at any other websites". Which I thought was a bit patronising! Well, at least the UK government seems to have caught up with the latest knowledge, the latest food science. And the idea that many of our long-term health problems and obesity problems are to do with too much carbohydrate in our diet, not too much fat.
English Comprehension That Helps You Sleep At Night
An old English saying becomes very current - ‘Prevention is better than cure’
And I do agree with the idea put forward by the new Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, who said, "The advertising ban will deliver a major change in the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention." And it's certainly true. 'Prevention is better than cure'. The word 'prevention', P-R-E-V-E-N-T-I-O-N, - it means 'stopping something happening'. That's 'prevention'. And we say 'Prevention is better than cure' - it's better not to get the illness or the condition in the first place than it is to cure it. 'Cure', C-U-R-E, means 'making illness better'. So I do agree - we need to eat differently. And 'Prevention is better than cure'. But I am a bit sad about roast potatoes, crumpets and Yorkshire pudding being considered 'junk food'!
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Is a similar thing happening in your country, perhaps? Are some of the traditional dishes in your country now being considered 'junk food'? I'd be really fascinated to hear.
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