Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living

Center for Healthy Living Projects

Activate Ya
The purpose of this study is to develop and test the efficacy of a multiple-component intervention to prevent tobacco use and promote physical activity for 7th-8th graders in Uruguay.
Age of Initiation of Tobacco Products Among USA Youth and Young Adults
This study involves a prospective secondary analysis of the first three waves of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study among U.S. youth (aged 12-17 years) and young adults (aged 18-24 years) who reported never use at Wave 1.
CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health)
CATCH is a research-based program designed to guide schools, families and children in healthy eating and physical activity.
CATCH Middle School
The Central Texas CATCH Middle School Project (CATCH MS) was a school-based health promotion initiative aimed at promoting physical activity, healthy eating and obesity prevention among middle school students living in central Texas.
Clinic and Tech-Based Diet and Fitness Intervention for Volunteer Firefighters
A cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) comparing the effectiveness of an occupational health clinician administered web-mobile lifestyle program, The First Twenty, to the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) among volunteer firefighters.
ENRICH (Encouraging Nurturing Responsiveness to Improve Child Health)
ENRICH stands for Encouraging Nurturing Responsiveness to Improve Child Health. This research project works to help parents establish healthy eating, activity, bedtime, and screen time routines.
FRESH-AUSTIN
Food Retail: Evaluating Strategies for a Healthy Austin (FRESH-AUSTIN) aims to further evaluation of the City of Austin's Healthy Food Access Initiative, and increase understanding of the complexities within a community food system.
GO! Austin / ¡VAMOS! Austin (GAVA)
GAVA is a coalition of residents, community leaders and nonprofits dedicated to improving the health of children in Dove Springs and 78745.
HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living)
This project is a clinic-community based intervention to implement an early life-cycle approach to obesity prevention among pregnant women and women with infants from low-income families.
Impact of Adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) & Obesity in the Fire Service on Health and Safety
Investigated the impact of the adenovirus-36 on obesity among the F2F cohort of firefighters. The fire service is particularly suited for this investigation because of their lifestyle of shared environments as well as their high risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Training Program
The key objective of developing the MCH training program is to address geographic disparities in access to MCH training for rural MCH professionals in the target areas of the HRSA Region VI (TX, NM, OK, AR, and LA) and the Upper Peninsula region of Michigan.
School Stakeholder Interview Project
The purpose of the School Stakeholder Interview Project (SSIP) was to learn about school stakeholder preferences and priorities to improve Center strategies for recruiting and retaining research study schools and participants, as well as to guide future projects.
Texas Adolescent Tobacco and Marketing Surveillance Study
The goal is to understand what types of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) devices, like e-cigarettes, and other tobacco products, like cigarettes, cigars, and hookah, youth and young adults are using and why they use those products. Additionally, we study the effect of tobacco product marketing and other factors (e.g., product characteristics, intrapersonal and interpersonal influences) on youth tobacco use.
Texas Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation (T-COPPE)
This project is a collaborative effort that will study the impact of two recent policies: the Safe Routes to School program and an important rule revision to the federal food allocation package administered by the Texas Women, Infants and Children program.
Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Partnership
The Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Technical Assistance Partnership was established to provide technical assistance and support to worksites across the state of Texas who are seeking Mother-Friendly designation, a designation which demonstrates a basic level of support for nursing mothers in the workplace
Texas Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science on Youth & Young Adults
The overall goal of the Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) on Youth and Young Adults is to develop an integrated program of research and training to provide scientific evidence, and a career path for regulatory scientists, to support U.S. tobacco regulation.
Travis County CATCH Elementary School Project (Travis County CATCH)
The Travis County CATCH Elementary School Project (Travis County CATCH) was a school-based health promotion initiative aimed at promoting physical activity, healthy eating and obesity prevention among middle school students living in central Texas.

Active Play-Active Learning
The Active Play-Active Learning project incorporates playground markings enhancements to school play areas to encourage ‘active learning’ during recess and class time.
Brighter Bites
This project is a collaborative effort to impact eating behavior among predominantly low-income families by introducing them to a routine distribution of fresh produce and corresponding education, ultimately to curb the childhood obesity epidemic.
CATCH Healthy Smiles
CATCH Healthy Smiles teaches students why toothbrushing, flossing, dentist visits, and healthy food and drink choice are important to oral health. Students will learn and practice the skills necessary to maintain healthy smiles.
CATCH My Breath
CATCH My Breath (CMB) is a middle school e-cigarette prevention program originally designed as a rapid response to the emerging teen vaping trends.
CO-CREATE
The CO-CREATE study aims to prevent overweight and obesity in adolescents by providing knowledge and infrastructure on policies to support making the healthiest choices the preferred ones.
First Twenty for Volunteer Firefighters
A cluster randomized controlled trial to address volunteer firefighters' (VFF) obesity to determine efficacy and acceptability of an inexpensive, culturally tailored internet based health and wellness intervention.
Fuel 2 Fight
Examination of obesity, dietary intake, physical activity, and energy balance in the lifestyle environment of 1,000 firefighters housed in 60 fire stations within 20 fire departments across the nation.
Green Schoolyards Project
The Green Schoolyards Project determines how trees, gardens, and nature trails at elementary school parks in Austin, Texas, affect surrounding temperatures and child health.
Houston TRAIN Study
The Houston TRAIN (Transportation Related Activity in Neighborhoods) Study will examine the short and long-term effect of a new light rail transit (LRT) system on adults’ physical activity in Houston, Texas.
Lunch is in the Bag
The purpose of this intervention is to encourage parents to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in sack lunches for their preschool children in childcare centers. The goal for this research is the development of new strategies for the promotion of healthy eating practices in children through childcare centers.
School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPAN)
The SPAN survey was established to track the prevalence of overweight and obese school-aged children in Texas.
STREETS (Safe TRavel Environment Evaluation in Texas Schools)
The STREETS Study (Safe TRavel Environment Evaluation in Texas Schools) is a five-year (2018 – 2023) natural experiment that will evaluate the City of Austin Safe Routes to School program.
Texas Child Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD)
This project will connect the dots between families, pediatricians, schools and local youth organizations to develop community capacity for early detection and effective management of obesity using evidence-based programs like CATCH and MEND.
Texas GROW! EAT! GO!
This project will test the impact of several different programs on behaviors related to childhood obesity including, a hands-on family-focused gardening program and a fun school-based walking program for kids.
Texas SNAP-Ed Evaluation
Texas SNAP-Ed Evaluation, is a two-year project to evaluate, on a statewide basis, the effectiveness of SNAP-Ed nutrition education and obesity prevention programming activities delivered by Implementing Agencies throughout the state of Texas.
Travis County CATCH Elementary School Project (Travis County CATCH)
The Travis County CATCH Elementary School Project (Travis County CATCH) was a school-based health promotion initiative aimed at promoting physical activity, healthy eating and obesity prevention among middle school students living in central Texas.