- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey 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 special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“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 most amazing fans.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all regions 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 isolated in it,” he added.
The Singer's A1C Announcement to His Audience
To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an inspiring message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average 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 discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, 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 important 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 dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote at the start of 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 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 taken on 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 different moments. I think my outlook is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint 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 daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, guesswork, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began modifying 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 impressed with how far technology has improved since he was first identified.
“The fact that I can receive real time readings 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 treatments aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s start was approved, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered 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 emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the burdens and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he leans on to handle 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 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, recalibrate, 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 soon after his diagnosis.
Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-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 drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”
He also takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, cognitive, 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 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 important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Above all, he encourages everyone managing type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.
