As Mexico has made its way toward becoming a developed country, its obesity rates are climbing alarmingly close to its northern neighbor.

A study by the Overseas Development Institute found that, since 1980, the number of overweight and obese people in Mexico has doubled. Around 70 percent of adults and 30 percent of children in Mexico are overweight or obese. The U.S. rate is only slightly higher.

In an effort to combat those figures, the Mexican government has banned television advertising for high-calorie food and soft drinks, according to a BBC report.

Effective immediately, those ads will be banned on Mexican TV from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekends. Similar movie theater bans will also be in place.

The Mexican Health Ministry said it expects this ban to eliminate around 40 percent of such commercials and will be replaced with more healthful food.

With this step Mexico has gone beyond what any other country has done to eliminate unhealthy food ads. The U.K., Norway and Quebec province in Canada don't allow junk food ads on programming aimed at children, but don't restrict them from so-called family programs.

The Mexican government last year put a higher tax on high-calorie food and drinks and, starting in 2015, will require food and drink manufacturers to label the health contents of their products. Both steps are an effort to tackle what experts are saying will be a huge problem in the future, according to NDTV.

By 2017, health officials estimate that Mexico's obesity problem will cost the public health care system around $11.7 billion.

Mexicans are the world's heaviest consumers of sugary drinks, with each person drinking around 275.8 20-ounce Coca-Cola products per year. Out of the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mexico has the highest rate of diabetics.