- Lead singer Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The band's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour” marks 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.
In 2025, the number 20 holds particular meaning for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the ride 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 most amazing 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 struggles of managing his condition have been the low points, while raising awareness and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have brought him joy.
“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 navigating their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.
The Singer's A1C Announcement to Fans
To show appreciation to supporters, 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 mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was attended by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, 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 obviously very personal 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 thirty-three-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.
Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote at the start of 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 experiences 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 pertinent.
“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 outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an important piece to powering through.”
Advancements 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 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 lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved 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 amazing thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or altering the disease itself are in development.
“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“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 enhancing devices; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional agrees that further advancements will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and helping with the challenges and the requirements of living with and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he relies on to handle his diabetes.
First, 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 super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little out of your control and being able to take a deep breath, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” he said.
While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.
Lately, 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 better. I don’t know exactly 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 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, cognitive, and emotional 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 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 personal development,” 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 tough days, but you can climb this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.
