He calls it “fire in the gut.” It’s the excitement, the burning drive to work through a problem and see the solution. It’s staying up at night, turning something over and over in your head and feeling exhilarated when you finally come up with an answer, says Chris Hardin, Professor and Chair of the Nutritional Sciences Department.

There are many facets of our nutritional landscape that contribute to the obesity epidemic Hardin is fighting. As a culture, we eat out too much, we take diets to the extreme, and our children don’t play outside as often as children in past generations. Hardin knows our culture has a problem, and he is working to combat it with healthy food and educational intervention.

Although Hardin is wary of taking a stance on specific diets, he does recommend food that doesn’t cause blood-sugar spikes and an overall diet characterized by moderation. “Fundamentally, your grandmother was right," he says. "Eat your vegetables, don’t eat too much junk, go outside and play." And don’t worry: you can still eat pizza – as long as you don’t eat it all the time.

So far, U.S. agriculutural policy has been geared toward making cheap food. According to Hardin, it hasn't done much in the way of encouraging healthy food. With his research and the new metabolic kitchen, he’s hoping to be able to suggest a new policy that will focus on making healthy foods accessible.