CATCH onto Health!
The Illinois CATCH on to Health! Consortium (ICHC) applies a planned, systemic, and coordinated school-based approach to behavioral and environmental change as related to the improvement of children's nutrition, physical activity, obesity. To address these needs, ICHC selected the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) as the primary change strategy. ICHC decided to focus its nutrition and physical activity program on elementary school children in the Illinois Delta Region, based on recommendations from organizations such as Child Trends and CATCH's demonstrated effectiveness. In implementing this program, CRHSSD collaborates with Southern Illinois Health Care, Egyptian Health Department, and Southern Seven Health Department.
CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health) is a program designed to promote physical activity, healthy food choices, and prevent tobacco use in elementary school aged children. CATCH employs a coordinated approach to child health promotion by targeting multiple aspects of the school environment and involving classroom teachers, school food service staff, physical education (PE) teachers, students’ families, and the broader school community in a range of health promoting activities for all children in grades K-5, similar to the CDC’s Coordinated School Health Program model. The four core components of CATCH
include: (1) the Eat Smart school nutrition program, (2) physical activity and healthy eating curricula, (3) the CATCH physical education program, and (4) a family education and involvement program. The coordination of health messages and activities between these four component areas is critical to positively impacting children's knowledge, skills, and behavior. Over a period of 20 years CATCH has developed an evidence base for improving physical activity and nutrition (decreasing fat
consumption) as well as maintaining those changes across time.
These changes applied to both advantaged and disadvantaged school children. More recently, a CATCH program in El Paso, Texas reported significant effects of CATCH on preventing the onset of overweight and obesity among male and female school children. A recent cost-effectiveness study of CATCH showed that the program’s cost-effectiveness ratio was about $890 per quality-adjusted life year and that the monetary net benefit of CATCH, when considering future medical costs averted, outweighed the costs of program implementation.