The NJ YMCA State Alliance is proud to be working with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to offer a new after-school program entitled Healthy U to help fight childhood obesity.

The NJ YMCA State Alliance is proud to be working with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to offer a new after-school program entitled Healthy U to help fight childhood obesity. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey's Healthy U program is a statewide initiative to introduce the award-winning CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health see attached article) curriculum that will lower obesity rates in children.

The Healthy U program is designed to combat childhood obesity by instituting behavioral changes in children using a multi-pronged approach that includes nutrition education, increased physical activity and a focus on family. The NJ State Alliance hopes to be able to show a qualitative, demonstrable improvement in the activity level and nutrition of the kids who participate in the program and increase understanding about these issues amongst families. We also anticipate that participation in Healthy U will provide YMCA staffs with valuable skills that will increase their ability to develop programs and services that address these issues. For example, they'll be able to rely on the Healthy U goals as they examine the games they play and assess how best to ensure maximum participation of all the kids involved.


The ultimate goal of Healthy U is to enhance awareness about the importance of health and wellness statewide and thereby reduce the level of obesity and chronic diseases, like diabetes, among kids in NJ. The Healthy U program is open to children between the ages of 5 and 12, who are enrolled in YMCA after-school programs.  Healthy U promotes nutrition education, noncompetitive physical education, improved self-esteem and strong family involvement,

The CATCH curriculum is proven to reduce obesity, and we're excited about improving the health of our children, thanks to support from The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey. The success of the program will be based on data that will be collected and evaluated by the University of Texas Science Center Houston School of Public Health each year to measure the impact and progress of children taking part in the program.