When dining at Chinese buffets, overweight individuals serve themselves and eat differently than people of normal weight, according to researchers at Cornell University.

Brian Wanink said that obese people sit closer to the food, generally face it and even chew less. He is the lead author of the study and wrote the book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."

For the research, 213 diners were observed at 11 all-you-can-eat restaurants around the country.

A news release said that 27 percent of normal-weight people faced the buffet, compared to 42 percent for those who were obese. The obese people also sat an average of 16 feet closer to the food.

Thirty-eight percent of normal-weight diners sat at a booth, compared to 16 percent of obese people.

Wanink also said that one-third of obese people browsed before choosing food, but 71 percent of normal-weight people did.

Those with body-mass indexes in the normal range were also 2.5 times more likely to use chopsticks.

"When food is more convenient people tend to eat more," said co-author Collin R. Payne of New Mexico State University. "These seemingly subtle differences in behavior and environment may cause people to overeat without even realizing it."

The study was published in the journal Obesity. The news release on the study did not discuss how the individuals who were studied were selected, nor did it say how their BMIs were determined.