- Frontman Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he uses his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the ride 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 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the low points, while raising awareness and engaging 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 interact with all these wonderful people from all regions of the world who are navigating their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.
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 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 most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a global community — a collective of more than 30,000 people worldwide who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, 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 personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get reflective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person living with 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 effect it still has to this day with the audience,” he said.
While the song has assumed a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.
“Now I [have] this great, big community that I belong to that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and outlook and viewpoint 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 finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is amazed 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 therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or modifying the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to become active only when blood sugar rises, offering a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.
“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, mentally, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the challenges and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he relies 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 while managing 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, 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 soon after his diagnosis.
Lately, he has prioritized 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 exactly why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health benefits,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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 fresh air is really important when a lot of my day, too, is spent inside for hours at a venue or on a film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Above all, he urges everyone managing type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be challenging days, but you can climb this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
