A high sugar diet definitely leads to diabetes mellitus type II.

DM Type I results from a lack of insulin production since the Beta cells are basically killed off. This used to be referred to as juvenile diabetes. Insulin is a hormone that shoves sugar into most body cells. A high sugar spike in blood leads to high insulin spikes in blood. Hormones and their cell membrane receptors can go through up-regulation or down-regulation. Down-regulation makes the receptor less sensitive to the effects of the hormone so you need more hormone to get the same result. More hormone means more down-regulation, more down regulation means you need more hormone which leads to more down-regulation. It becomes a continuous cycle. Before full DM Type II is reached, people get Metabolic Syndrome (Syndrome X). Same idea happens when someone takes recreational drugs. Eventually the same dose doesn't work anymore cause of down-regulation and you need more alcohol, heroine, cocaine or whatever to get the same result. At the same time, the beta cells in the islets of langerhans can be overburdened or burnt out for having to make too much insulin. Eating a low sugar diet would not cause them to atrophy since you cannot completely avoid carbohydrates. Sugar just spikes insulin levels where complex carbs make levels rise and fall.

Competition for Knowledge Gate in King Saud University Under the Supervision of University Diabetes Center
The causes of diabetes mellitus differs from one patient to another, but 2 main types of diabetes can be determined.
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Type 1: Which is insulin dependant and occur due to disturbance in the immune systems or viral infection affecting pancreas, and usually affect children and young age. Type 2: Non insulin dependant but can be treated by oral hypoglycemic agents plus diet and exercise, and this type is most common, and occurs as result of many causes but we can simplify these causes in one sentence which is: Disturbance in the works of insulin inside the body.

Causes of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (IDD)

There are many causes of type 1 DM: a. Immunity Immune system can destroy B cells of Pancreas that produce insulin by attacking these cells. factor

b.

Inflammatory Factor Some viral infection can be transported to pancreas through blood leading to destruction of B cells producing insulin.

c.

Hereditary Factor Hereditary factor play an important role in causing type 1 DM because of specific hereditary genes in some people. The prevalence of a child to be affected by DM increase if his brother or sister, or parents are diabetic but not reaching 10%.

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (NIDD) Prevalence of type 2 DM reach 90%, and it affects all age group with no difference in age or sex, but its diagnosis is late. Causes of Type 2 1st is hereditary and 2nd is environmental.
1 st

Diabetes

Mellitus

have

main

factors:

factor: Hereditary Factor This factor is transmitted from parents to children, if both parents are diabetic, so each two of 4 sons are type 2 diabetics and sometimes ratio reach more than 75%, and is related to environmental factors. 2 nd factor: Concerning factors that lead to DM including:

Environmental

Factor

1.

Gaining

Weight

Gaining weight plays an important role in type 2 DM, studies proved that 80% of patients with DM are overweight (10-15kg) in a certain period of time before diagnosis of disease.

2.

Age
Type 2 DM affect all age group, different social standard, but prevalence increase with bigger age especially after age of 45 years.

3.

Sex
Type 2 DM is equal in both sexes until age of puberty, but prevalence increases in women as 2 times in men between ages of 35-65 years. Different type of diabetes occurs in female during pregnancy called Gestational Diabetes, and this type is transformed to type 1 DM later in life.

4.

Lack

of

Exercise

Studies proved that people with lack of exercise are more susceptible to type 2 DM than people doing regular exercise, because exercise lead to better absorption of insulin.

5.

Bad

Food

Habits

Bad food habits and eating lot of fat, fast meals, sweets lead to increase in weight, accumulation of fat inside the cells of the body especially abdominal obesity and decrease sensitivity of cells to insulin and type 2 DM.