- Lead singer Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how these two anniversaries have influenced his life and how he uses his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” 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 fortunate 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 managing diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit 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 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 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 shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a three-month period, was the best 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 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 important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get reflective and to tap into sort 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 experience, to those affected by 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 fan base,” he said.
While the song has assumed a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.
“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, estimation, and vigilance, according to a board certified endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began modifying insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the mental burden people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is amazed 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.
In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or modifying the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“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.
“Further progress will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
However, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the challenges and the requirements of living with 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 shared some strategies 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 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 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, 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 precisely why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “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 walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, cognitive, and emotional health.
“It really grounds 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 inside for hours at a venue or on a movie location or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he encourages 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 scale this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
