- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how both milestones have influenced his life and how he leverages his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 carries special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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.”
Parallel to the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.
“In summary, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all corners of the world who are navigating 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 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 uplifting message of hope, along with a shout-out 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 global community — a network of over 30,000 people worldwide who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, determination, 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 clearly very personal 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 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 journey, 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 impact it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.
While the song has taken on a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.
“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I am part of 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 managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Advancements in Diabetes Management
In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, guesswork, and care, as stated by a board certified endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.
“Algorithms began adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift 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 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an incredible thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was approved, and research into preserving or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar rises, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“Further progress will absolutely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of living with and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies 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 ideal 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 out of your control and being able to pause, recalibrate, 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 early during his diagnosis.
Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for 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 precisely why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much focus on it when I was younger 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 indoors for hours at a concert hall or on a film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that personal development,” Jonas said.
Above all, he encourages everyone living with type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can climb this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
