CATCH Behaviors Maintained Long After Kids Leave Program

Changing behavior is the only way to effect lasting improvements. CATCH succeeded in producing lasting changes in dietary and physical activity behaviors in elementary-age children. 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. What’s more, a follow-up study three years later showed that without any continued CATCH intervention, the students who participated in the main trial maintained lower fat intakes and higher levels of physical activity compared to students who had not participated in CATCH. Over 95 scientific and peer-reviewed publications have been created making CATCH the most studied childhood obesity prevention program, ever. In 1999, CATCH was renamed Coordinated Approach To Child Health to better reflect the shift from a research trial to a proven, sustainable program. What started as a research project has now become an award winning coordinated school health program that has been successfully implemented in thousands of schools worldwide.