By Bukola Olukemi-Odele
Healthy eating is often portrayed as a matter of willpower or personal choice. Yet, for millions of women and girls, the concept of choice is an illusion. Their health is significantly influenced by their food environment—the physical, economic, and social factors that determine what food is accessible, affordable, and promoted.
A poor food environment is not just about a lack of food. More often, it is about limited access to nutritious options. This can manifest as food deserts, which are urban or rural areas where fresh, affordable produce is miles away, leaving residents dependent on convenience stores saturated with high-calorie, ultra-processed foods.
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When food environments deteriorate in this way, the consequences are not shared equally. Women and girls bear a disproportionate share of the burden. Their bodies move through life stages that demand consistent and specific nutritional support, from adolescence to pregnancy and beyond. Yet the social realities surrounding food availability and preparation deepen their exposure to unhealthy diets.
As fresh and nutritious options become harder to access, supermarket shelves, kiosks, and convenience stores are increasingly dominated by products such as bread, noodles, frozen meals, sugary drinks, reconstituted meat products, fries, and snacks. These foods are deliberately formulated to trigger repeat consumption. They typically contain high concentrations of salt, sugar, fats, and flavour enhancers that create what nutrition researchers describe as hyper-palatability, a sensory quality that strongly stimulates appetite and encourages repeated intake. The result is a steady shift away from whole foods toward diets that fill the stomach while offering little nutritional value.
The health effects are already visible.
Recent data from the Global Nutrition Report indicates that 15.7 percent of women in Nigeria are living with obesity. Research also shows that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) often contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from packaging materials and industrial additives. For young girls, high consumption of UPFs has been linked to earlier onset of puberty, a development associated with lifelong health risks, including increased susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancers later in life.
The dangers intensify during pregnancy. Diets rich in UPFs can lead to gestational hypertension, diabetes, and even pre-eclampsia. Additionally, high consumption of UPFs is linked to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), largely due to insulin spikes caused by refined sugars. Industrial fats may also contribute to oxidative stress that can damage egg quality and complicate conception. In the end, what appears to be a simple matter of diet gradually becomes a question about reproductive health and the wellbeing of future generations.
Another dimension of the problem lies in how these products are marketed. Women remain widely responsible for feeding households and bearing much of unpaid care work, often while managing tight working schedules. Food companies exploit this reality by presenting UPFs as convenient and cheap solutions for the “busy woman.” Instant meals promise speed. Packaged snacks promise convenience. Sugary drinks promise quick energy. In the absence of regulations such as mandatory front-of-package warning labels or restrictions on aggressive marketing, these products quietly become the default choice for consumers and many households.
The consequences extend far beyond individual health. Diet-related illnesses lead to lost workdays, rising medical expenses, and declining economic participation. Women already navigating income disparities often find themselves carrying the extra weight of chronic conditions, including autoimmune diseases, certain cancers, and inflammatory disorders linked to the consumption of UPFs.
Food justice is therefore a crucial feminist issue and sits firmly within the broader conversation about women’s wellbeing. When governments fail to regulate unhealthy food environments, the costs are borne most heavily by those already managing multiple burdens.
Effective action requires more than public health advice. Governments must adopt policies that reshape the market itself. Fiscal measures that discourage unhealthy products, clear front-of-pack warning labels that help consumers make informed choices, mandatory salt limits for processed and pre-packaged foods, and stronger controls on marketing aimed at women and children can help rebalance the forces at play, as well as counter market pressure.
True justice for women and girls means ensuring a world where the food on their plates is a source of strength rather than a slow, creeping threat to their future.
Olukemi-Odele, a food and nutrition scientist, is the Programme Officer, Cardiovascular Health, at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).
