- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience 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 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” 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 blessed 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 difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his foundation have brought him joy.
“Overall, I’m really thankful 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 experiencing their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” said Jonas.
The Singer's A1C Announcement to Fans
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 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, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of more than 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, determination, and optimism.
“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 personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-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 challenges 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 assumed a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.
“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Algorithms began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden 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 real time readings 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.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. 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.
“Smart insulin” is also being developed to become active only when glucose levels rises, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“More advancements will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional agrees that further advancements will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the challenges and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he leans on to handle 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 pause, recalibrate, 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 apply this soon after his diagnosis.
Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after 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 exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” said Jonas. “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 takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, mental, and emotional health.
“It really centers 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 venue or on a film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Above all, he encourages everyone living with type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be tough 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,” he concluded.
