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CATCH Anti-Obesity Program Expanding
to Harris County Schools
Over the next two years, CATCH could be put into practice in as many
as 22 local school districts
at more than 400 elementary schools
Using a $2.4 million grant from the Houston Endowment, Harris County’s Public Health and Environmental Services Department has engaged The University of Texas School of Public Health to implement its Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH), a school-based health promotion program aimed at preventing childhood obesity.
Steven H. Kelder, Ph.D.
Over the next two years, CATCH could be put into practice in as many as 22 local school districts at more than 400 elementary schools.
“Only recently have we begun to understand that childhood obesity is a serious condition with grave, lifelong health implications,” said Steven H. Kelder, Ph.D., co-principal investigator of CATCH, associate professor in epidemiology and disease control, and associate professor in health promotion and behavioral sciences at the UT School of Public Health. “Couch potato kids are not just at risk for developing bad habits, they are at risk for developing dangerous adult diseases.”
According to studies, Texas children are among the most obese in America. The School of Public Health has found that 22.4 percent of fourth-graders, more than 19 percent of eighth-graders and 15.5 percent of 11th-graders are overweight.
The county is getting behind CATCH as part of its Steps to a Healthier Houston program because the curriculum has been successful elsewhere, Linda Forys, director of health education at Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services, told the Houston Chronicle in October.
So far, CATCH has been adopted in 1,500 Texas elementary schools, with about 750,000 children. The program focuses on four components: school nutrition, classroom curriculum, physical education and family education.
Deanna Hoelscher, Ph.D. (standing), co-principal investigator of CATCH, visits with staff and students at Betty Sue Creech Elementary School in Katy.
Photo by Dennis Meyler
“The reason CATCH has been successful is because it brings together teachers, administrators, parents and the community to work together towards improving the health of their children,” Kelder said. “What we all have in common is this: we are partners in the business of disease prevention and health promotion.”
Kelder said a number of studies have concluded that CATCH leads to lasting changes in children’s eating habits and a greater tendency to engage in physical activities. CATCH children consumed less fat, took part in more active routines in physical education and attended schools whose cafeterias provided more healthful meals, he said. Students attend a health and exercise class daily with four days of physical activity and one day of learning healthy eating habits. Each week students also attend a one-hour after-school meeting that includes activities such as healthy-cooking classes, aerobics, games and singing.
Parents attend three hour-long meetings during the school year for education about promoting good health in their children.
Cafeteria workers attend a 30-minute session each month to encourage them to provide healthier foods in school meals.
“The coordination of health messages among these component areas is critical to positively impact children’s knowledge and behavior. For over 10 years CATCH has guided schools, families and children in the process of being healthy,” Kelder said. For more information on CATCH, see: http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/CATCH/.
By Melanie Hillis, Public Affairs