“Don’t eat so many sweets, you’ll develop diabetes.” This warning is familiar to almost everyone. The connection between sugar and diabetes seems so obvious that many people take it as an established fact: a person regularly eats sweets, cakes and other sugary foods, their blood sugar levels rise, and eventually the disease develops.

In reality, however, the situation is much more complicated. Diabetes does not develop because of a single chocolate bar, a preference for desserts or the habit of adding sugar to tea. In fact, diabetes can also develop in people who eat very little sugar.

To understand where this misconception comes from and what the actual relationship between sugar and diabetes is, it is important to first look at how the disease develops.

Diabetes is a group of diseases with different causes and mechanisms. The most common forms, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, develop in different ways.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. The immune system mistakenly attacks the beta cells of the pancreas, which are responsible for producing insulin. As a result, the body loses its ability to produce enough of this hormone, which is essential for controlling blood glucose levels.

The amount of candy, chocolate or other sweets a person consumes is not considered a cause of type 1 diabetes. Therefore, the claim that a love of sweets can “give you” this type of diabetes does not correspond to current scientific understanding.

The situation is different with type 2 diabetes. This is the most common form of the disease, in which the body’s cells gradually become less responsive to insulin. This leads to insulin resistance, while the pancreas may eventually be unable to meet the body’s increased demand for insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels begin to rise.

Sugar does have a certain role in the context of type 2 diabetes, but saying that it directly causes the disease would be an oversimplification.

Several factors can increase the risk of developing diabetes. These include genetic predisposition, age, excess body weight, low physical activity, prediabetes and certain other conditions. Therefore, a person can almost completely avoid sweets and still have a high risk of developing diabetes. Conversely, simply eating desserts does not mean that diabetes will necessarily develop.

At the same time, it would also be incorrect to completely dismiss the connection between excessive sugar consumption and diabetes.

The main issue is that large amounts of added sugar can significantly increase the calorie content of the diet. If a person regularly consumes more energy than they burn, this can contribute to weight gain and the accumulation of excess body fat. Overweight and obesity are important risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

A more accurate way to describe the relationship is this: regularly consuming excessive amounts of calories, including calories from foods high in added sugar, can contribute to weight gain and metabolic changes. These factors, in turn, can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

However, it would be wrong to blame sugar alone. Excess calories can also come from foods that contain little or no sugar, such as high-fat or highly processed foods. When it comes to preventing diabetes, what matters is not an individual piece of candy or a teaspoon of sugar, but the overall diet, body weight, level of physical activity and individual risk factors.

Particular attention is often given to sugary drinks. Soft drinks, energy drinks, sweetened iced tea, some ready-made coffee beverages and other sugar-sweetened drinks can contain substantial amounts of sugar while providing less satiety than solid food.

As a result, people may consume additional calories without even considering the drink to be a significant part of their diet. Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been associated with a higher risk of weight gain, obesity and type 2 diabetes. For those seeking to reduce this risk, experts generally recommend choosing water and unsweetened beverages more often.

Another widespread misconception is that sugar literally “wears out” the pancreas. According to this theory, every time a person eats something sweet, the pancreas is forced to produce large amounts of insulin, eventually becoming exhausted and losing its ability to function properly.

However, insulin production after eating is a normal physiological process. Glucose enters the body not only through candy and table sugar. Carbohydrates are also found in bread, grains, potatoes, pasta, fruit and many other foods. After a meal, blood glucose levels rise, and insulin helps cells use glucose as a source of energy.

Type 2 diabetes does not develop because a person has eaten too many desserts several times and thereby “overloaded” the pancreas. The disease involves a much more complex process, primarily associated with reduced sensitivity to insulin and a gradual decline in the body’s ability to maintain normal blood glucose levels.

Another important question is whether sugar affects the body in the same way when it comes from different foods. Here, it is important to consider not only the sugar itself but the entire food.

For example, whole fruits contain naturally occurring sugars, but they also provide water, fiber and other nutrients. Fruit juice is different. It can contain a significant amount of free sugars, while usually providing much less fiber than whole fruit.

The World Health Organization recommends limiting the consumption of free sugars. These include sugars added by manufacturers, cooks or consumers, as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices. The WHO recommends that free sugars account for less than 10% of total daily energy intake. Reducing this amount to 5% or less may provide additional health benefits.

However, the recommendation to limit sugar does not mean that a slice of cake or a few candies will, by themselves, cause serious harm to a person’s health. The amount and frequency of consumption are what matter most.

The modern approach to diabetes prevention also does not focus on creating a list of foods that must be permanently eliminated from the diet. Maintaining a healthy body weight, engaging in regular physical activity, following a balanced diet rich in whole foods and fiber, and limiting sugary drinks and foods high in added sugar are much more important.

Even for people who have already been diagnosed with diabetes, managing their diet does not necessarily mean a lifelong absolute ban on every dessert. The diet should be considered as a whole and tailored to the person’s health status and individual needs.

Thus, the statement that “sugar causes diabetes” is an overly simplistic explanation of a complex disease.

Sugar is not a cause of type 1 diabetes. Nor is it considered the sole direct cause of type 2 diabetes. However, regularly consuming excessive amounts of added sugar, particularly in the form of sugary drinks, can contribute to factors that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in people who already have other risk factors.

There is therefore little reason to fear an occasional piece of candy or slice of cake. What matters far more is the overall quality of a person’s diet and what happens to their body weight, physical activity and metabolism over the course of many years.

Verdict: There is a connection between sugar and diabetes, but it is much more complicated than the common claim that “eating sweets causes diabetes.” Sugar is not, by itself, a trigger that causes the disease. However, regularly consuming excessive amounts of added sugar, especially through sugary drinks, can contribute to excess calorie intake, weight gain and metabolic changes, thereby increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.