- Lead singer Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown 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 promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the ride 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 two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit have brought him joy.
“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to connect with all these amazing people from all corners of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans
To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform 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 collection of numbers over a three-month period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a network of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, perseverance, and positivity.
“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 sort 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 tune he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes experience, to those living with 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 experiences when I was 14 and to see the effect it still has to this day with the audience,” he said.
While the song has taken on a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.
“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes
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 constant cycle of needles, estimation, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps 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 doctor noted.
“Algorithms began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has advanced since he was first diagnosed.
“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 amazing thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when glucose levels rises, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that further advancements will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.
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 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 apply this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying 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 benefits,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”
He also takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, mental, and emotional health.
“It really grounds 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 inside for hours at a venue or on a film set 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 managing type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
