One in five under-30's have never had a full English breakfast, study says

The traditional full English breakfast - baked beans, sausages, black pudding and all - is being shunned by about one in five young Brits, according to a new study.

As many as 17 percent of under-30's in the UK said they had never tried a fry-up, with a majority telling an online poll they'd rather go for smoked salmon or smashed avocado on toast.

The full English breakfast traditionally has baked beans, British sausages, back bacon, eggs, fried mushrooms, toasted bread, fried tomato and black pudding, depending on where you are in the UK.

But the survey, conducted by Ginger Research, found one in four respondents identified black pudding as their biggest reason for avoiding the dish.

  • Diners give their say on why a fry-up is still a good breakfast choice

The survey found millennials were wary of the nutritional content of the meal, with 20 percent associating the dish with heart attacks and obesity.

A quarter of respondents believed it was too greasy, eight percent didn't fancy baked beans, and six percent wanted to avoid processed meat in sausages.

Seven out of 10 said they would choose smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, or smashed avocado on toast and oatmeal pancakes for breakfast, over the full English breakfast.

Since the start of the pandemic, Just Eat has seen a 182% increase in breakfast orders in Northern Ireland Credit: PA

Ellie Glason, Director of Ginger Research, said 2,000 UK adults aged 18-30 were involved in the study.

"The study also found that over half of (those) young adults believe Britain is becoming more health conscious and shunning traditional English meals like fried breakfasts, bangers and mash and pie and chips," she said.

The volunteer-based English Breakfast Society - which boasts more than 6,000 fans on Facebook - say the dish was first popularised in the Victorian era, and reached its heyday in the 1950's, when "roughly half of the British population" began their day with the fry-up.

Regional variations include the Irish breakfast - served with a few slices of Irish soda bread - and the full Scottish breakfast sometimes sneaks in a piece of haggis to spice up the meal.