- Lead singer Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” marks its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how both milestones have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride 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 great and tough moments managing diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with 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 interact with all these wonderful people from all regions of the world who are navigating their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” he added.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans
To show appreciation to supporters, 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, along with 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, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was visited by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, and positivity.
“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform 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 thirty-three-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote early in his career and diabetes experience, 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 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 different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, guesswork, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating combined ‘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 instant data of my glucose directly on 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 immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when glucose levels rises, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and addressing the burdens and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to 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 perfect day living with this disease and even if you’re very diligent with your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little out of your control and being able to take a deep breath, 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 practice this early during his diagnosis.
Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-hydrated.
“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health benefits,” said Jonas. “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 physical, cognitive, and psychological health.
“It really grounds 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 movie location 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 living with type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
