By JOSEPH BROWNSTEIN
ABC News Medical Unit
Oct. 20, 2009—

Unchanged since 1995, the standards for school lunches have perhaps grown stale enough to lend themselves to jokes about cafeteria food.

But researchers hope to change all that with a new set of guidelines to promote healthier eating habits in American children and stem the rising levels of obesity. Today, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) -- part of the National Academy of Sciences -- released new guidelines in an attempt to change what schools serve for breakfast and lunch.

"What you really will see is the change in nutrient needs," said Mary Jo Tuckwell, a consultant for the food services group inTeam Associates in Ashland, Wis., and a member of the committee that wrote the guidelines. "Instead of targeting nutrients, we're really focusing on foods."

Several guidelines, as doctors have recommended for years, suggest adding more fruits, vegetables and whole grains to the menu.

But perhaps one of the biggest changes -- and one that is supported by both child nutritionists and a celebrity chef -- is an emphasis on adding new equipment and infrastructure to school kitchens to speed the changes along.

British TV chef Jamie Oliver told ABC News through a representative that the largest change schools could make to improve menus was to "teach nutrition services staff how to cook freshly prepared meals." Oliver said this would require training, better ways of storing fresh food, and in many cases adding equipment and facilities.

More at:
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8866065

In its 2009 report School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children, the committee recommends that the USDA adopt standards for menu planning, including:

Increasing the amount and variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains

Setting a minimum and maximum level of calories

Focusing more on reducing saturated fat and sodium

Report source:
http://www.iom.edu/en/Reports/...ealthy-Children.aspx