With Christmas party season about to kick off, many of us will be exposed to every weight watcher's biggest nightmare in the coming weeks - the buffet. However a new study has found that the order in which food is presented at a buffet can have a major impact on what a person ends up eating.

Buffets allow people to serve themselves and return for unlimited helpings - a dangerous thing for those of us with limited willpower.

US researchers decided to investigate whether the way food is presented at buffets affects what people eat.

They looked at 124 people who were attending a conference, during which they visited a breakfast buffet. The participants were randomly divided into two groups and two separate buffet lines that were 50 feet apart were provided.

The participants were unaware that food was arranged in opposite order on both lines. On one line, the foods were arranged in the following order - cheesy eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, low-fat granola, low-fat yoghurt and fruit.

On the other line, the buffet began with the fruit and ended with the cheesy eggs.

For the purpose of this study, the participants were told they could only make one trip to the buffet.

The researchers found that overall, the first foods that were presented were the ones that were taken the most. In fact, two-thirds of the plates were filled with the first items on the buffet.

Furthermore, which ever food was presented first appeared to biase the entire selection of food. For example, when healthy foods were offered first, 86% of people took them. However when they were offered last, only 54% took them.

When cheesy eggs were offered first, 75% of people took them, however if they were offered last, just 28% of people took them.

The study also noted that when less healthy foods were offered first, people took 31% more food overall.

The researchers from Cornell University advised people who are hosting a buffet to put healthier foods at the start of the line if they want to help their guests to make healthier choices.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Public Library of Science One.