- Lead singer Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how both milestones have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It's been an incredible ride in both… regarding the band, 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 wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others through his role and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.
“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to connect with all these amazing people from all regions of the world who are navigating 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 show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an inspiring message of hope, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a three-month period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was visited by members of a global community — a network of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, determination, and optimism.
“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage 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 introspective and to explore 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 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 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 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 supported me in so many various moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to powering through.”
Progress in Diabetes Management
In the past, 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 never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.
“Algorithms began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift 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 diagnosed.
“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 amazing thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are in development.
“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar increase, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively 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 expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, mentally, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the challenges and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies 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 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, 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 apply this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.
“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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 bodily, mental, and psychological health.
“It really centers 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 leans on his therapist regularly, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Above all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in 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 experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
