The archipelago nation of Vanuatu is planning to ban imported food at government events and tourist spots in one of its provinces to help curb rising obesity.

A 2014 World Health Organization report found that 28 percent of the country's 250,000 residents suffer from obesity. AÂ shift from traditional diets to imported junk foods over the last few decades is driving obesity rates higher.

The ban is slated to go into effect in March.

The World Trade Organization could penalize Vanuatu for the ban.

In 2007, Samoa banned imports of "turkey tails," a popular high-fat snack in many Pacific nations. But the ban was lifted in 2011 because banning imports of only one or two foods violates WTO rules.

Pacific island nations have some of the highest obesity rates in the world. Many of those countries, including Vanuatu, have already imposed taxes on sugary drinks.

A study last year found rates of obesity among high school students as high as 60 percent in the Pacific nations of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tonga, and American Samoa. The global average is around 13 percent.

Read More:

• As Obesity Rises, Remote Pacific Islands Plan to Abandon Junk Food (New York Times)
• Addressing Obesity, Remote Pacific Islands Plans To Ban All Imported Goods & Junk Foods This March (Science Times)