- Lead singer Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how both milestones have influenced his life and how he uses his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the adventure of a lifetime, and we’ve been so blessed to be able to do this for 20 years now and to have the support of the world’s greatest fans.”
Parallel to the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.
“Overall, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all corners of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” said Jonas.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience
To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an uplifting message of hope, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a network of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, determination, and positivity.
“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s clearly very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with this disease,” he said.
Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote early in his career and diabetes journey, to those affected by the disease.
“It’s a really important time for me to get to speak on stage like that and play a song that I wrote about these challenges when I was 14 and to see the effect it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.
While the song has assumed a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.
“Now I [have] this great, big community that I am part of that has supported me in so many different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an important piece to persevering.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of injections, estimation, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating combined ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 carry every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has advanced since he was first identified.
“The fact that I can receive instant data of my glucose straight to my phone or smart watch or it can be [shared with] my wife or other family members when I am apart from is just an incredible thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when glucose levels increase, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“More advancements will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.
However, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and addressing the burdens and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he leans on to handle his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to be less hard on himself.
“You’re never going to have the perfect day living with this disease and even if you’re super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence and being able to pause, recalibrate, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” he said.
While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-hydrated.
“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much focus on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really helpful.”
He also walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, mental, and emotional health.
“It really centers me and even when it’s cold out, getting out in the open air is really important when a lot of my day, too, is spent inside for hours at a venue or on a movie location or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that personal development,” Jonas said.
Above all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be challenging days, but you can climb this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.
