How to Maintain a Healthy Weight: A WHO and CDC-Based Nutrition and Fitness Guide

Healthy weight maintenance is not a single diet or workout plan but a combination of consistent habits around food intake and movement, according to guidance published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both agencies frame weight management as a long-term balance between energy consumed through food and energy used through daily activity.

The calorie-balance principle

The CDC states that using calories through physical activity, combined with reducing the calories eaten, creates a calorie deficit that results in weight loss. The agency adds an important distinction for the long term: while cutting calories drives most initial weight loss, keeping that weight off depends on continuing regular physical activity. The CDC puts it directly, saying that regular physical activity is "the only way to maintain weight loss."

The CDC also notes that counting calories all the time is not necessary for most people, but understanding roughly how many calories are needed — based on age, sex, height, weight and activity level — helps avoid the common problem of gaining weight despite exercising, which happens when calorie intake still exceeds what is burned.

What WHO and CDC recommend eating

WHO's healthy diet fact sheet sets specific numeric targets for adults. It recommends at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per day, at least 25 grams of dietary fiber from natural foods, and keeping free sugars below 10% of total daily energy intake — about 50 grams a day on a 2,000-calorie diet. Total fat should stay at or below 30% of daily calories, with saturated fat capped at 10% and trans fat at 1% of daily energy. WHO also recommends limiting salt to under 5 grams a day (2 grams of sodium) while getting at least 3,510 mg of potassium daily, mainly from fruit and vegetables.

The CDC's complementary advice emphasizes eating a variety of foods rather than eliminating entire food groups such as carbohydrates, and checking nutrition labels for serving sizes and calorie counts.

Physical activity guidelines

WHO's guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour and the CDC's adult activity guidance both set the same baseline: adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination of both. The CDC specifies this can be split into 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Both agencies add that adults should do muscle-strengthening activity covering all major muscle groups — legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms — on at least two days per week.

The CDC also notes that some physical activity is better than none for people who are currently inactive, meaning any added movement produces measurable health benefits even before reaching the full target.

WHO's physical activity fact sheet reports that globally, 31% of adults — about 1.8 billion people — do not meet the recommended activity levels, and that insufficient activity is linked to a 20% to 30% higher risk of death compared with meeting the guidelines. The organization projects inactivity could reach 35% of adults by 2030, and estimates inactivity-related healthcare costs at roughly $27 billion a year globally between 2020 and 2030.

Step-by-step approach to maintaining a healthy weight

1. Estimate your calorie needs based on age, sex, height, weight and activity level rather than tracking every calorie obsessively, as suggested by the CDC.
2. Build meals around at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day, following WHO's recommendation, and choose whole grains over refined ones.
3. Limit added sugar to under 10% of daily calories, keep saturated fat under 10% and salt under 5 grams a day, per WHO targets.
4. Accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week — for example, 30 minutes five days a week — or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, per CDC and WHO guidelines.
5. Add muscle-strengthening exercise covering major muscle groups on two or more days a week, as recommended by both agencies.
6. If currently inactive, start with any amount of movement, since the CDC notes partial activity is still beneficial, and build up gradually.
7. For long-term weight maintenance rather than just loss, keep physical activity consistent, since the CDC states this is necessary to sustain results after initial weight loss from dietary changes.
8. If weight loss is a goal, the CDC notes that even a 5% to 10% reduction in total body weight can produce meaningful health benefits.

Table: Key numeric targets from WHO and CDC

The CDC also cautions that nutrition and exercise are not the only factors in weight management: sleep, age, genetics, medications and underlying medical conditions all influence body weight, so the same diet and activity plan can affect individuals differently.