- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how these two anniversaries have influenced his life and how he leverages 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 as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride in both… regarding the band, it’s been the adventure of a lifetime, and we’ve been so fortunate to be able to do this for 20 years now and to have the support of the world’s greatest fans.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his foundation have brought him joy.
“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these amazing people from all regions of the world who are navigating 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 Fans
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 inspiring message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a three-month period, was the best it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, and optimism.
“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s obviously 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 managing this condition,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes experience, to those affected by the disease.
“It’s a really significant time for me to get to speak on stage like that and play a song that I wrote about these experiences when I was 14 and to see the impact it still has to this day with the audience,” he said.
While the song has assumed a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.
“Now I [have] this great, big community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Advancements in Diabetes Management
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” 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 improved since he was first identified.
“The fact that I can receive real time readings of my glucose directly on my phone or smart watch or it can be [shared with] my wife or other family members who I’m traveling away from is just an incredible thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when glucose levels rises, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
Nevertheless, while a family physician concurs that further advancements will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and helping with the burdens and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he relies on to manage his diabetes.
First, 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 very diligent with your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence and being able to take a deep breath, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” he said.
While this is difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.
Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying well-hydrated.
“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis on it when I was younger as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”
He also takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, cognitive, and psychological health.
“It really grounds 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 indoors for hours at a venue or on a film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he encourages everyone living with type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
