Ultra-processed food consumption in sub-Saharan Africa: a narrative review through a gender lens

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is experiencing a rise in ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, with implications for public health nutrition. This paper argues that UPF uptake in SSA must be understood in relation to the gendered organisation of foodwork. Drawing on evidence from across the region, we show that women, despite increasing participation in paid employment, continue to primarily handle tasks such as acquiring food, cooking, and related domestic labour, creating time poverty. Under these circumstances, UPFs emerge as practical coping strategies, with implications for dietary quality and public health. Policy approaches that emphasise home cooking or behaviour change may therefore be ineffective or inequitable if they increase women's unpaid workload. We conclude that addressing UPFs as a public health concern in SSA requires gender-responsive strategies that focus on the organisation of foodwork and the conditions under which food is prepared and consumed in order to reduce time burdens and reshape food environments. Funding This study received no external funding.