Youth in Motion: El Paso Study

When the original CATCH program was made available to the public, the first site in the nation to attempt to adopt and institutionalize CATCH was El Paso, TX. With substantial support from a local foundation, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, El Paso CATCH was implemented in eight schools in 1997. Today, 50 percent of all elementary schools in the El Paso border region, including Las Cruces, NM, administer some form of the original CATCH program.

To study the effectiveness of CATCH in a low-income US/Mexico border region, four elementary schools new to El Paso CATCH and four elementary schools without the program were followed for three years. The study began with 906 third grade children, 93 percent of whom were Hispanic. At least 85 percent of the children in each school received free or reduced school meals.

CATCH Program Materials
Component	Title	Grade	Description
Classroom Curricula	Jump into Health	K	10 sessions, introduction to nutrition & physical activity
	Everyday Foods for Health	1st	10 sessions, introduction to nutrition & physical activity
	Celebrate Health	2nd	12 sessions, introduction to nutrition & physical activity
	Hearty Heart	3rd	15 sessions, nutrition & physical activity
	Go For Health 4	4th	24 sessions, nutrition & physical activity
	P.A.S.T. Diabetes	4th	4 sessions, diabetes information & prevention
	Go For Health 5	5th	16 sessions, nutrition & physical activity
	FACTS	5th	4 sessions, tobacco prevention
Physical Education	CATCH PE	K to 8th	Developmentally appropriate physical activities
School Environment	Eat Smart	K to 5th	School food service program
Family	Home Team	3rd to 5th	Reinforcement of classroom
	Family Fun Nights	K to 5th	Once a year, 2 hours, diet & physical activity
After-School Care	CATCH Kids Club	K to 5th	After school/recreation program, nutrition & physical activity

Results
The rates of overweight for Hispanic children have been on the rise nationally (see figure). In El Paso, the increase in the number of girls and boys at risk of becoming overweight or who already were overweight slowed significantly in the CATCH schools versus the children who did not participate in the program. El Paso CATCH schools also had consistently higher MVPA rates in PE compared to schools without CATCH. In general, these MVPA rates were around 60 percent of PE class time, 1.5 times that reported by the national CATCH study. In addition, El Paso CATCH schools had consistently lower fat content in school lunches than those served at non-CATCH schools. Like the national study, however, there was no difference between El Paso CATCH schools and non-CATCH schools in aerobic fitness and weight for height.

Strengths
• The program is multi-focal and involves parents
• It has scientifically demonstrated changes in health behavior
• CATCH was successfully implemented in four diverse areas of the US with varying ethnic representation in grades 3 through 5
• CATCH was successfully implemented in a low-income, primarily Hispanic community

Innovative Ideas
• Has potential for significant impact by utilizing existing school resources and including families
• Integrates the program into the school curriculum slowly, thus increasing sustainability
• Modifies activities and education to respond to local culture and climate
• Identifies cultural sensitivity to the healthy living program

Implementation

 

1. Identify community sites and sources for parent support, information, and problem solving, such as the YMCA and other community centers
2. In ethnic communities, front line staff responsible for engaging the community should be bi-lingual and set goals of persuading families to join the planning and implementation
3. Identify local foundations with an investment in the community
4. Aggressively engage the Board of Education when the program is being implemented in the schools, or participating community center, so they can align their policies with the goals of the program
5. Create mentoring programs, recruitment activities and/or training sessions
6. Establish a relationship with school personnel so that they develop a personal stake in seeing the program succeed
7. Identify champions in the PE, health and science areas to support healthy living education in preschool and kindergarten
8. Be explicit in defining project objectives
9. Evaluate using focus groups, key informant interviews, questionnaires, and surveys of target population, parents, teachers, and administrators
10. Ensure cultural sensitivity and efficacy of the program through appropriate recruitment activities and/or training sessions
11. Find ways to reinforce lessons and manage behavior with parents through active family participation
12. Engage and educate cafeteria staff and management to adjust portion sizes, food preparation, fat and salt content and to reduce the use of prepared foods
13. Ideally, when nutrition suggestions are presented through the curriculum, they should be served in appealing ways in the cafeteria in the same week
14. Design a communications plan for school and community through media, posters, newsletters, parent events and website postings
15. Schedule a series of parent activities: Monday Miles, Walking Wednesday, Fitness Friday, Nutrition Nights, field trips to sporting events, for example
16. Establish a baseline measure for each objective and establish strategies and timelines for measurement and reporting
17. Steadily implement the components of the CATCH program

Resources
www.CATCHTexas.org
CATCH Texas

www.CATCHInfo.org
National CATCH

www.pdnhf.org
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation

www.flaghouse.com
Flaghouse is the national distributor of CATCH curriculum. This curriculum is designed to support existing curricula and therefore requires little or no additional time commitment

Contacts
National CATCH Director
University of Texas, Austin
Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research
7320 N Mopac, Suite 300
Austin, TX 78731
Phone: (512) 346-6163

National CATCH Coordinator/Flaghouse
Phone: (800) 793-7900

Karen J. Coleman, PhD
Graduate School of Public Health
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Dr.
San Diego, CA 92116
coleman@mail.sdsu.edu

References
Babey, S.H., Brown, E.R., & T.A. Hastert. (2005, December). Access to safe parks helps increase physical activity among teenagers. UCLA Health Policy Research Brief, PB2005-10.
Coleman, K.J. (2006). Mobilizing a low-income border community to address state mandated coordinated school health. American Journal of Health Education. 37,15-26.
Coleman, K.J., et al. (2005). Prevention of the epidemic increase in child risk of overweight in low-income schools. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. 159, 217-224.
Dowda, M. C., Sallis, J. F., McKenzie, T. L., Rosengard, P. R. & Kohl, H. W. (2005). Evaluating the sustainability of SPARK physical education: A case study of translating research into practice. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 76, 11-19.
Gortmaker, S.L., et al. (1999). Reducing obesity via a school-based interdisciplinary intervention among youth: Planet Health. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 153, 409-418.
Luepker R.V., et al. (1996). Outcomes of a field trial to improve children’s dietary patterns and physical activity. The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health. CATCH collaborative group. Journal of the American Medical Association. 275, 768-776.
Marcoux, M.F., Sallis, J. F., McKenzie, T. L., Marshall, S., Armstrong, C. A., & Goggin, K. (1999). Process evaluation of a physical activity self-management program for children: SPARK. Psychology and Health, 14, 659-677.
McKenzie, T. L., Sallis, J. F., Kolody, B., & Faucette, N. (1997). Long term effects of a physical education curriculum and staff development program: SPARK. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 68, 280-291.
Nader, P.R., et al. (1999). Three-year maintenance of improved diet and physical activity: the CATCH cohort. Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine.153, 695-704.
Sallis, J. F., et al. (2003). Environmental Interventions for Eating and Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Middle Schools. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 24, 209-217.
Wang, L.Y., Yang, Q., Lowry, R., & H. Wechsler. (2003). Economic analysis of a school-based obesity prevention program. Obesity Research, 11, 1313-1324.
Webber, L., et al. (1996). Cardiovascular risk factors among children after a 2-1/2 year intervention — the CATCH study. Preventive Medicine, 25, 432-441.
Wiecha, J.L., et al. (2004). Diffusion of an integrated health education program in an urban school system: Planet Health. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29, 6, 467-475.