- Lead singer Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” marks its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how both milestones have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride 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 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 struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“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 path, 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 His Audience
To thank his fans, 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, accompanied by a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a collection 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 global community — a network of more than 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, perseverance, and optimism.
“It was really special 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 fitting to get introspective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune 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 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 different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to powering through.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of injections, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is impressed with how far technology has improved 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or altering the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s start 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 growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when glucose levels rises, promising a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.
“More advancements will definitely 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 agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the burdens and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he leans 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 super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little out of your control and being able to take a deep breath, recalibrate, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.
While this is difficult to do at times, he said he learned to apply this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has focused on 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 better. 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 focus on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really helpful.”
He also takes 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 concert hall or on a film set or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that personal development,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he urges everyone managing 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 challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.
