How do you know when you are full? Do you judge it by when everyone else at the table is done? When your plate is empty? Or when the food does not taste good anymore?

All of the above have been questions given to Brian Wansink, author of the book, “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think,” which has had a lot of publicity with being discussed on 20/20, BBC News, The Learning Channel, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, spoke on Iowa State’s campus last week to talk about his research and the work he has done at school campuses to change what students eat.

In a study done in Paris, that same question was asked and the typical answer was “when I feel full.”

In Chicago, 150 people were asked the same question and said they stopped eating when their plate or bowl was empty, when everyone else is through eating or when the TV show they were watching was over.

“We are a nation of mindless eaters. The two main reasons why we eat the things we eat is visibility and convenience,” Wansink said.

This could also be true for many students on campus. How many times have you gone to a lecture with a recently purchased Vend-O-Land pop or candy bar because it was on the way to class?

“I recommend eating with as few distractions as possible,” said Eunice Bassler, senior lecturer of food science and human nutrition.

According to Wansink’s website, a person will eat more if they are distracted by watching TV or talking to friends, in the car, eating out of a bag or box, or family style when more is available at arm’s reach and when using bigger plates or bowls.

A person will eat less if they are using smaller plates or bowls, utensils and snack bags and slow down the pace at the dinner table.

Wansink was successful in changing students’ habits of eating at lunch on basic placement such as moving the salad bar to a more visible place in the lunchroom, putting the fruit in a large fruit bowl and putting the water bottles in the front of the bottles of sugary pop.

“Making eating behavior changes depend on believing the change is important and having the confidence to change,” Bassler said.

“Eating-contextual skills such as tuning into foods and paying attention to yourself and your environment when eating are some, not all, of the skills needed to be a competent eater,” Bassler said. “ Additional skills needed relate to internal regulation, food acceptance and having a positive attitude toward food and eating.”