CATCH Research

CATCH began as a university study in 1987 and has today grown into a school and after-school program that teaches children how to be healthy for a lifetime

Originally known as the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health , the controlled clinical CATCH trial was evaluated from 1991–1994 in 96 schools (56 intervention, 40 control) in four states (California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas) and included over 5,100 students with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

CATCH was a multi-component, multi-year coordinated school health promotion program designed to decrease fat, saturated fat and sodium in children's diets, increase physical activity and prevent tobacco use.

The CATCH trial was the largest school-based health promotion study ever funded in the United States (through the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute). The evidence of the Main Trial indicated that CATCH indeed decreased student fat consumption and increased physical activity among children and adolescents.

Main Trial Study
Extensively evaluated in over 100 scientific peer-reviewed publications since the Main Trial, we invite you to explore each of the CATCH Programs' research and discover why CATCH is the most studied childhood program ever.

CATCH Kids Club

The CATCH Kids Club (CKC) is a physical activity and nutrition education program designed for elementary school aged children (grades K - 5) in an after-school/summer setting

During 1999-2000, CATCH Kids Club underwent pilot testing and formative evaluation in 16 after-school sites in Texas . The results showed that CATCH Kids Club works – it has been kid-tested and approved, it is inclusive (everybody plays), and it has been demonstrated to increase children's physical activity and their nutrition knowledge and intentions. The education component aims to equip children with the knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, and intentions to make healthy dietary and physical activity decisions.

Curriculum Outcomes

CKC is based on social learning theory, which suggests that most health behaviors are social behaviors that are learned in a social context. The curriculum targets changes in specific environmental, personal, and behavioral factors that influence children's health behavior.

Specifically, it encourages changes in the environment that would support healthful eating and physical activity patterns in children and staff, and by creating peer support for selecting more healthful foods and doing regular physical activity. The curriculum focuses on changes in specific cognitive or personal attributes and values about health, nutrition, and physical activity; and the sense of self-efficacy they have with food selection and preparation, as well as their physical activity patterns.

CKC Study

CATCH Middle School

The CATCH Middle School Program provides a bridge that reinforces the importance of a coordinated effort to promote a healthy lifestyle that supports physical activity and proper nutrition

CATCH Middle School is a program designed to promote physical activity and healthy food choices. CATCH employs a holistic approach to child health by targeting multiple aspects of the school environment and involving classroom teachers, school food service staff, physical education (PE) teachers, students' families, and the broader school community in a range of health promoting activities. Evaluation of CATCH Middle School components have demonstrated effects in reducing TV viewing, increasing physical activity, and healthy food consumption.

As an important enhancement to the CATCH Middle School program, we have incorporated the award winning HEADS UP science education program and the IMPACT physical activity program. HEADS UP was designed to excite middle and high school students about science, and places an emphasis on learning science concepts through health related examples. Evaluation of HEADS UP has shown significant improvements in standardized academic achievement tests.

CATCH Early Childhood

CATCH Early Childhood (CEC) is the newest program from the CATCH Research Team

CATCH Early Childhood (CEC) is designed to nurture a love of physical activity, provide an introduction to classroom-based gardening and nutrition, and encourage healthy eating in children ages 3-5. Modeled after the nationally recognized CATCH Program, CEC provides an environment where physical activity, health education, gardening and healthy eating behaviors are valued and taught. Little ones are motivated to walk, run, jump, dance and move their whole bodies while playing and having fun. Recent studies indicate that CEC positively affects students nutrition and physical activity behaviors.

CEC Study

Continuing the Research

CATCH Programs and Behaviors are Sustainable

At the completion of the study, studies indicate that CATCH succeeded in producing lasting changes in dietary and physical activity behaviors. In 1999, the CATCH students were studied again three years following the intervention, while they were in eighth grade. Without any continued CATCH intervention, the students who had participated in CATCH maintained lower fat intakes and higher levels of physical activity compared to students who had not participated in CATCH. (Nader et al.,1999)

Nader
CATCH program sustainability factors have also been studied. In 1999, five years after the CATCH main trial ended, another study was conducted with the original CATCH elementary schools to find out whether or not CATCH was still being implemented, and what factors needed to be present to successfully continue a school-based health program. The study showed that school-based health programs can be sustained. Factors that contribute to success are staff training, a program champion, and adequate administrative support and resources such as sufficient funding for materials and equipment.
More Evidence

A recent replication study of CATCH in El Paso reported significant effects of the program on preventing the onset of overweight and obesity among children. In Travis County Texas, implementation of CATCH led to significant reductions of 4th grade overweight and obesity. The Pass and CATCH study demonstrated that incorporating 10 minutes per day of movement activities within a classroom setting (e.g., during science class) led to significant positive academic improvements. Additionally, a recent cost-effectiveness study of CATCH reports the program cost-effectiveness ratio was $889.68 (revealling the intervention costs per quality-adjusted life years) and the net benefit was $68,125.00 (comparison of the present value of averted future costs with the cost of the CATCH intervention).

Study Overview
Research to Practice

In 1999, CATCH was renamed Coordinated Approach To Child Health to better reflect the shift from a research trial to a proven, sustainable program. With the help of funding from the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CATCH is being disseminated across the state of Texas. Some of the lessons learned from disseminating CATCH in Texas include the need for support of opinion leaders, community networking, and positive experiences resulting from use of the program, cost, training, and ongoing support.