In 2004, France banned vending machines from schools. In 2011, it limited servings of french fries to once a week in school cafeterias. A year later, it imposed a soda tax. On Friday, the government said no restaurants can offer free refills of sodas and other sugary drinks.

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The new regulation is the latest attempt to tackle what the government called a relentless rise in the national obesity rate. Fast-food restaurants, usually foreign chains, are expected to be targeted under the new law.

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The law, which takes effect immediately, said it aimed to limit, especially among the young, the risks of obesity and diabetes.

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The move by France is in line with recommendations by the World Health Organization, which has urged countries to impose a tax on sugary drinks to battle an increase in obesity, presenting data in 2016 on the beneficial health effects of such a tax.

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The French are, on average, less overweight than other Europeans and Americans. The share of obese adults (age 18 and older) in France was 15.3 percent in 2014, just below the European Union average, 15.9 percent, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Malta has the highest share of adult obesity of European nations, 26 percent.