School Level Evaluation Methods
Individual Evaluation Methods
CATCH Publications - Complete List (PDF)
Selected References (PDF)
• Perry et al., 1990
• Luepker et al., 1996
• Nadar et al. 1999
• Hoelscher et al., 2001
• Osganian et al., 2003

Description of CATCH Main Trial

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 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 (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 third to fifth 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).


Results of Main Trial

CATCH worked! At the completion of the study, CATCH succeeded in producing lasting changes in dietary and physical activity behaviors. Students who participated in CATCH consumed less fat and participated in more physical activity outside of school; CATCH school cafeterias provided meals that were lower in fat; and students were more physically active during physical education classes. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the main outcomes from the trial in 1996 (Luepker et al., 1996).

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 need 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 (Osganian et al., 2003).

The CATCH students were studied again three years following the intervention, in the 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).


More Evidence That CATCH Works

New research conducted by Karen J. Coleman, Ph.D, showed that CATCH successfully slowed the epidemic increase in risk of overweight or overweight in school children exposed to CATCH. The study "Prevention of the Epidemic Increase in Child Risk of Overweight in Low-Income Schools: The El Paso Coordinated Approach to Child Health" is the first research demonstrating that CATCH works to halt the increase of obesity among youth. Dr. Coleman observed that school staff training was a key factor in changing school culture. Physical Education and Child Nutrition staff who were formerly less empowered to change the school health environment gained a sense of purpose and involvement within this new culture.

From 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 (Hoelscher et al., 2001).

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