- Lead singer Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey 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.
In 2025, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, it’s been the ride 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 most amazing fans.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit 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 regions of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” he added.
The Singer's A1C Announcement to Fans
To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and surprised his audience by sharing an uplifting message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a network of more than 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, perseverance, and optimism.
“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage as a place to speak about something that’s obviously very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to tap into kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.
Jonas offered 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 significant 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 taken on 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 possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”
Progress in Diabetes Management
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Automated systems began modifying insulin on their own, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear 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.
Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“Smart insulin” is also being developed to become active only when blood sugar rises, offering a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.
“Further progress will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
However, while a family physician agrees that further advancements will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, mentally, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he leans on to handle his diabetes.
First, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.
“You’re never going to have the perfect day while managing 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 take a deep breath, 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 soon after his diagnosis.
Recently, 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 hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” 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 bodily, cognitive, and emotional health.
“It really centers me and even when it’s cold out, getting out in the fresh air is really important when a lot of my day, too, is spent indoors for hours at a concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist regularly, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that personal development,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can climb this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
