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Dr
Henk Smit
Biographical
details
During my MSc in Food Science I found myself developing
a strong interest in the psychology of food intake and food
choice, with a more specific fascination for food cravings
and addiction. Because chocolate supersedes any other food
in terms of the sheer number of theories that try to explain
why people like it, or crave for it, I used this idea as a
basis for my PhD at Reading University, where I investigated
the liking for chocolate, focusing on attitudes, mood and
psychopharmacological effects.
I started my current post-doctoral research in Bristol early
1999, mainly investigating effects of foods and food constituents
on mood and cognitive function, with a special focus on caffeine,
glucose and energy drinks, but also investigating other food
constituents, the development of taste preferences through
various conditioning mechanisms, and building on some of the
work I did during my PhD.
Research interests
Food / Flavour preferences and learning or conditioning thereof
Effects of foods and food constituents on mood and cognitive
function
Food craving and addiction
Palatability
Mood measurement
Dietary restraint and cognitive controls of intake
More specifically, any of these aspects applied to coffee,
tea, energy drinks and chocolate.
Recent Publications
Smit, H.J., Gaffan, E.A. & Rogers, P.J. (2004). Methylxanthines
are the psycho-pharmacologically active constituents of chocolate.
Psychopharmacology, 176(3-4), 412-419.
Smit,
H.J., Cotton, J.R., Hughes, S.C. & Rogers, P.J. (2004).
Mood and cognitive performance effects of "energy"
drink constituents: caffeine, glucose and carbonation. Nutritional
Neuroscience, 7(3), 127-139.
Smit,
H.J. & Blackburn, R.J. (2004). The role of methylxanthines
in the liking for chocolate. Appetite, 43(1), 119. Abstract.
Smit,
H.J., Dias, M.L. & Rogers, P.J. (2003). Familiarity and
the mood and cognitive performance effects of soft drinks:
the placebo question continued. Appetite 41, 343. Abstract.
Rogers,
P. J., Martin, J., Smith, C, Heatherley, S.V. & Smit,
H. J. (2003). Absence of reinforcing, mood and psychomotor
performance effects of caffeine in habitual non-consumers
of caffeine. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 167,
54–62.
Smit,
H. J. & Rogers, P. J. (2002). Effects of caffeine on mood.
Pharmacopsychoecologia 15, 231-258. Review.
Smit,
H. J. & Smee, A. S. G. (2002). Do methylxanthines play
a role in the liking for chocolate? Appetite 39, 259. Abstract.
Smit,
H. J., Meikle, A. & Rogers, P. J. (2002). Mood, alerting
and cognitive performance effects of 'energy drinks': what
are the appropriate placebos? Appetite 39, 258. Abstract.
Smit,
H. J. & Rogers, P. J. (2002). Effects of 'energy' drinks
on mood and mental performance: critical methodology. Food
Quality and Preference 13, 317-326.
Smit,
H. J. & Rogers, P. J. (2001). Potentially psychoactive
constituents of cocoa-containing products. In M. M. Hetherington
(Ed.), Food cravings and addiction, (pp. 325-349) Leatherhead:
Leatherhead Food RA Publishing.
Rogers,
P. J., Kainth, A. & Smit, H. J. (2001). A drink of water
can improve or impair mental performance depending on small
differences in thirst. Appetite 36, 57-58.
Smit,
H. J. & Rogers, P. J. (2000). Effects of low doses of
caffeine on cognitive performance, mood and thirst in low
and higher caffeine consumers. Psychopharmacology 152, 167-173.
Rogers,
P. J. & Smit, H. J. (2000). Food craving and food "addiction":
A critical review of the evidence from a biopsychosocial perspective.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 66, 3-14.
Stubenitsky,
K., Zandstra, L. H., Elliman, N. A., De Graaf, C., Smit, H.
J., Rogers, P. J. & Mela, D. J. (2000). No development
of energy-based conditioned flavour preferences in human adults
under realistic eating conditions. Appetite 35, 311. Abstract.
Popular Science publications
Smit, H. J. (2002) Chocolade is gewoon lekker. In Natuur &
Techniek, pp. 23-29. (Dutch)
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