- Lead singer Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he uses his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride 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.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and connecting with others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“Overall, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect 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,” 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 uplifting message of hope, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a network of over 30,000 people worldwide who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, 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 important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get introspective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.
Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune 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 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 great, big community that I am part of that has supported me in so many different moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an important piece to persevering.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a board certified endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin on their own, creating combined ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is impressed 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an incredible thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar increase, 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 nearer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
However, while a family physician concurs that further advancements will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the burdens and the requirements of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed 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 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 pause, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.
While this is difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, 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 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 helpful.”
He also takes 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 movie location or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist regularly, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
