Texas Schools Are Adopting CATCH—A School Nutrition and Physical Activity Program

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: University of Texas Prevention Research Center

Topics:
Nutrition & Physical Activity for Youth | Obesity & Overweight | School Health

Researchers designed and tested a school health program to help children improve their diet and increase the amount of physical activity they engage in. The program, CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health), is now reaching more than half a million children in over 1,200 schools in Texas. In 2001, the Texas state legislature passed a bill authorizing the state Board of Education to require all school systems in Texas to provide 30 minutes per day of school-based physical activity and to implement a coordinated school health curriculum. The Texas Education Agency approved CATCH for this purpose. Researchers recently updated CATCH materials and produced a new diabetes education workbook for elementary school children. Work with community partners continues to further the adoption of CATCH in Maine, Florida, and North Carolina.

Read case study of this intervention.

 

Back to Research Projects