Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH)

CATCH is an evidence-based coordinated school health program designed to improve nutrition and physical activity in students attending kindergarten through 8th grade. Additional CATCH programs include CATCH Kids Club for after school settings and CATCH Early Childhood for use in preschools. This program is conducted in schools and after-school programs, and incorporates familial and community involvement in a comprehensive effort to reduce cardiovascular disease. The program is funded by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

CATCH is based on the CDC's Coordinated School Health model and impacts four aspects of a child's learning environment: classroom, physical education, nutrition services, and family. The classroom component, Go For Health, provides hands-on lessons and activities that teach students to identify, practice, and adopt healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. Take-home activities, parent newsletters, and Family Fun Nights engage parents and show them how to be positive role models for their children. The goal is that as parents become educated about nutrition and physical activity they will become motivated to initiate their own behavior change and will in turn have improved the home environment. CATCH physical education (PE) instruction provides hundreds of fun and unique activities designed to increase motivation and participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The CATCH Eat Smart guide addresses the school nutrition environment and provides tips and resources for menu planning and preparation, as well as ways to reinforce classroom messages about healthy eating. In addition to addressing the above components individually, CATCH provides a Coordination Toolkit that increases school-wide collaboration and guides administrators, teachers, nutrition services staff, and parent leaders in specific actions for creating a healthier school environment.

The goal of Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) is to improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce obesity in preschool, elementary, and middle school aged children.

CATCH is successful in improving participants' diet and physical activity, and the results lasted three years after participation.

An evaluation of 3,714 students from the first CATCH cohort reported improved diet and physical activity that was maintained 3 years after participation. At baseline, self-reported daily energy intake from fat was 32.7% in the control group and 32.6% in the intervention group. Three years later, intake in the intervention group decreased to 30.3% while the control group was virtually unchanged (p<.001). The study also states that the intervention group reported engaging in significantly more physical activity than the control group after participating in CATCH (13.6 minutes, p<.001). A replication study of CATCH in El Paso, Texas reported a significant difference (11%) between treatment and control groups in preventing the onset of overweight and obesity.

Currently, CATCH is being implemented in over 10,000 schools and other educational settings nationwide.

Luepker RV, Perry CL, McKinlay SM, et al. Outcomes of a field trial to improve children's dietary patterns and physical activity: The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH). J Am Med Assoc. 1996;275:768-776.

Nader P, Stone EJ, Lytle LA, et al. Three year maintenance of improved diet and physical activity: the CATCH cohort. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153(7): 695-704.

Coleman KJ, Tiller CL, Sanchez MA, et al. Prevention of the epidemic increase in child risk of overweight in low-income schools: the El Paso coordinated approach to child health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159:217-222.