- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The band's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries have influenced his life and how he leverages his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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 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 difficulties of managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.
“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact 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 alone in it,” said Jonas.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans
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, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was visited by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, determination, and positivity.
“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage 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 kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes experience, 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 experiences 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 relevant.
“Now I [have] this great, big community that I am part of that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more positive 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 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 constant cycle of injections, estimation, and care, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Algorithms began modifying 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 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 when I am apart from is just an incredible 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 onset was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when glucose levels rises, offering a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.
“More advancements will absolutely continue to develop. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
However, while another medical professional agrees that further advancements will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and helping with the challenges and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he relies 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 living with this disease and even if you’re very diligent with your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence and being able to pause, recalibrate, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” he said.
While this is difficult 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 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,” said Jonas. “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 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 engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can climb this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really inspire anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.
