- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries particular meaning for iconic singer 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,” 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 most amazing fans.”
Parallel to the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.
“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all corners of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes path, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.
The Singer's A1C Announcement to His Audience
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 inspiring message of hope, accompanied by a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, perseverance, and optimism.
“It was really special 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 reflective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.
Jonas offered 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 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 impact it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.
While the song has assumed a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.
“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Progress in Diabetes Management
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of injections, estimation, and care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin on their own, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate 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 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 therapies aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“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 growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield 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 naturally as the body once did.
“More advancements will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
However, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the challenges and the requirements of living with and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.
The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he relies on to manage his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.
“You’re never going to have the perfect 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 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 hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying hydrated.
“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much focus 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 concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he encourages everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can climb this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
