CATCH Research and Development

The CATCH Program has been extensively evaluated in over 80 scientific peer-reviewed publications. Originally known as the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health, the controlled clinical CATCH trial was evaluated in 1991–1994 in 96 schools (56 intervention, 40 control) in 4 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 (Perry et al., 1990). 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).

CATCH included school environmental modifications related to food consumption, physical activity, and tobacco use. CATCH cafeterias were instructed to serve foods lower in fat, saturated fat, and sodium; the physical education teachers were instructed to include greater involvement of children and to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 50% of class time; and school-wide policies were implemented to establish non-tobacco use. The CATCH classroom curriculum used social cognitive theory to target 3rd to 5th grade students and focused on multiple health behaviors, including eating habits, physical activity, and cigarette smoking as well as family and home-based programs to complement in-school activities (Perry et al., 1990).

Continuing Research

Results of a recent study in El Paso, Texas showed that CATCH successfully slowed the increase in risk of overweight or overweight seen in a controlled group of school children. "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./Vol. 159, March 2005)" by Karen Coleman, Ph.D.; Claire Lola Tiller, MA; et al.

Additional Research Sources