Ensuring a Balanced Diet: What NIN & WHO Recommend

Maintaining a balanced diet is central to good health, reducing risks of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. Both the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) of India and the World Health Organization (WHO) provide science-based guidelines on the ideal proportions of nutrients to include in daily diets, as well as recommended limits for salt and sugar.

Here’s a handy chart to decode what (and how much) you should eat each day for optimal health -

Nutrient/Substance	NIN Recommendation	WHO Recommendation
Carbohydrates	45–65% of total energy	45–60% of total energy; e.g., 225–325g/day for a 2,000 kcal/day diet
Protein	10–15% of total energy (~0.83g/kg body weight)	10–15% of total energy (~0.8g/kg body weight)
Total Fat	≤30% of total energy (prefer unsaturated fats)	≤30% of total energy (prefer unsaturated fats); e.g., 44–66g/day
Saturated Fat	<10% of total energy	<10% of total energy  or <22g
Trans Fat	As low as possible	<1% of total energy
Free Sugar	<10% of total energy (ideally <5%)	<10% of total energy (ideally <5%; e.g., <50g in a 2,000kcal diet)
Salt	<5g/day (approx. 1 tsp, iodized)	<5g/day (approx. 2,000mg sodium, iodized)
Dietary Fibre	Encourage at least 400g vegetables & fruits/day (~25g fibre/day)	At least 25g/day