IT’S not often a night out in Colchester challenges you to think.

The fizzy lager and bright lights of the town’s bars and clubs may be appealing, but are not necessarily intellectually stimulating.

But Cafe Scientifique aims to change that, by offering an informative and entertaining version of the rarefied atmosphere of the lecture hall.

Essex University academics will be leading fortnightly discussions on topical scientific issues.

Last week’s launch, at the Minories Cafe, saw Dr Gavin Sandercock lead an evening exploring why children are fatter and less fit than in the past.

In front of a small, but spirited, audience, Dr Sandercock outlined his research into children’s fitness and fatness in an energetic and humorous talk.

It surprised me to learn that being thin, but unfit, carried twice the mortality risk for a child as being fit, whether slender or overweight.

Fitness is in worrying decline, according to Dr Sandercock’s research, which found children’s performance on shuttle runs had declined by 34 per cent for boys and 37 per cent for girls in the ten years from 1998.

Summarised briefly, the doctor’s prescription to battle obesity and boost fitness was for children to eat breakfast, cycle or walk to school, and not have a TV in their bedroom, while parents should set an example by being active themselves.

Discussion then ranged, widely, from how Facebook and hair straighteners can have a deleterious effect on girls’ fitness, to how roads are built wider in Germany to encourage cycling.

Psychology lecturer Rick O’Gorman is the driving force behind the Cafe Scientifique events, which are held in university towns around the world.

He said: “This is about giving people in the local community a chance to hear from some of the experts who live and work in their midst.

“The talk is about giving a flavour of the subject, but the heart of it is the chance to chat and bounce ideas around.

“You can watch David Attenborough on TV, but you can’t stop the programme and ask why that is the established scientific view.

“For our people, this is another outlet for their work, and questions from the public can help them by challenging their thinking and the direction their research is going.”

Dr Michael Steinke, scheduled to lead the next meeting, said the event was designed to improve the Wivenhoe Park-based university’s links with Colchester.

He said: “There’s a lot of very interesting people doing fascinating research, but people in Colchester don’t seem to realise that.”

The marine scientist will be talking about the smell of the sea and how it affects the weather, on Wednesday, April 14.

Future meetings include computer scientist Dr Francisco Sepulveda discussing mind-reading machines, on May 5, Professor Peter Higgins explaining Sudoku, on May 19, and Dr Markus Bindemann exploring the psychology of recognising unfamiliar faces, on June 2.

The free events start at 7.30pm, at the Minories Cafe, in High Street.

For more information, visit www.essex.ac.uk/psychology/ psy/cs/