- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how both milestones have impacted his life and how he uses 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 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “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 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 two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and connecting with others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“In summary, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all corners of the world who are experiencing 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 Fans
To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and surprised his audience by sharing an uplifting 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 best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a network of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, determination, 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 clearly very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get reflective and to tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune 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 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 taken on 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 lifted me up in so many different 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 outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Advancements 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 daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a board certified endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.
“Algorithms 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 diagnosed.
“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 managing diabetes and delaying or modifying 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 acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“Smart insulin” is also being developed to become active only when blood sugar rises, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
However, while another medical professional agrees that further advancements will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and psychologically.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and helping with the challenges and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he leans on to handle his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to take pressure off 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 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.
Lately, he has focused on taking vitamins, caring for 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 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 physical, cognitive, and emotional 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 film set or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist regularly, 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 engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
