Vision

Healthy Children in a Healthy World

Mission 

To serve as a state, national, and international leader in the promotion of healthy living

Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH)

CATCH Worldwide

• CATCH is in over 2,500 elementary schools in Texas, potentially impacting over 800,000 school children
• CATCH is in over 7,000 schools in 22 states in the U.S., Washington D.C., and Canada

CATCH Outcomes

• CATCH began as a randomized controlled community trial evaluated from 1991-1994 in 96 schools in 4 states
• Received 4 major National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants
• CATCH succeeded in producing lasting changes in dietary and physical activity behaviors in the main trial
• Changes in diet and physical activity were maintained 3 years post-intervention
• CATCH was recently replicated in El Paso, TX
  • After 3 years of CATCH, the intervention group found 11% fewer girls and 9% fewer boys classifying as overweight

Cost-Effective and Net Beneficial Program

• Cost-effectiveness ratio of CATCH - $889.68 per quality-adjusted life-year added (compared to dialysis at $50,000/quality-adjusted life-year)
• CATCH has a net benefit of $68,125.00/child (averted medical costs and costs for lost wages)

Dell Center Core Project: CATCH Travis County Project

• Received $2.4 million from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation to reduce the prevalence of overweight 4^th grade students in all 97 Travis County elementary schools to 15% after 4 years
• Approved by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), includes 4 core components:

          -Eat Smart school nutrition program           -Classroom curricula

         -CATCH physical education program            -Family education program

• Includes a CATCH Child Health Consortium composed of stakeholders that will extend CATCH into the Travis County community

CATCH Recognition

• U. S. Department of Health and Human Services awards CATCH the 2006 Secretary’s Innovation in Prevention Award - 1 of 9 programs in the U.S. as a program that has taken research and translated it into a proven program in communities

“CATCH is an example of how health education for children can be interesting, sustainable and highly effective.  Their comprehensive approach to teaching and increasing general childhood health on this scale is a blueprint for success.”
– Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Other Projects

• Texas Child Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation (T-COPPE) Project: examines the impact of two policy initiatives designed to improve physical activity & eating behaviors of children at risk for obesity in TX
• Surgeon General’s Report, 2010 – Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People
• U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines
• School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN): surveillance system to monitor the prevalence of overweight/obesity in TX school children
• Mobilizing Youth for Tobacco-Related Initiatives in India (MYTRI): randomized controlled trial to develop, implement, & evaluate the efficacy of a tobacco prevention intervention for school children in urban India
• CATCH Middle School: disseminates the CATCH physical activity & healthy eating program in Central TX Middle Schools

 Faculty

• Center Director: Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD, CNS,  Professor
  
• Center Executive Committee:
  Steve Kelder, MPH, PhD, Professor and Co-Director
  Cheryl Perry, PhD, Professor and Regional Dean
  Guy Parcel, PhD, Professor and Dean
  Bill Kohl, PhD, Professor
  
• 18 Faculty Members

The Center is part of The University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, located near The University of Texas campus in Austin

Address:      313 East 12^th Street, Suite 220
                   Austin, TX 78701
Phone:         512-482-6170
Website:     www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/dellhealthyliving