- Lead singer Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he uses his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 holds particular meaning 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 diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “It's been an incredible ride in both… regarding the band, 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 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 low points, while advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.
“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful people from all regions 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 isolated in it,” said Jonas.
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 surprised 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 three-month period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a network of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, determination, 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 clearly very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get reflective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-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 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 challenges 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 significance 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 possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to persevering.”
Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes
In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.
“Algorithms began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the mental burden 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 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 amazing thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting 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 immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar increase, 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 closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
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, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the burdens and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.
Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he leans on to manage his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to be less hard on himself.
“You’re never going to have the ideal 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 pause, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.
While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to apply this soon after his diagnosis.
Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-hydrated.
“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. 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 focus on it when I was younger as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”
He also walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, cognitive, and psychological 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 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 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 scale this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
