- Frontman 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 discusses how these two anniversaries have influenced his life and how he leverages his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “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 world’s greatest fans.”
Parallel to the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.
“In summary, 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 journey, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout 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 inspiring message of hope, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a network of more than 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, and optimism.
“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s clearly very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get introspective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this condition,” 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 experiences 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 meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.
“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 perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to persevering.”
Progress in Diabetes Management
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant 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 care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”
Jonas is impressed with how far technology has improved since he was first diagnosed.
“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 when I am apart from is just an amazing thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing 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 growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when glucose levels increase, offering a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.
“Further progress will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
Nevertheless, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the burdens and the requirements of living with and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed 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 perfect day while managing this disease and even if you’re super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence 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.
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 precisely why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health benefits,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much focus on it when I was younger as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”
He also walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, cognitive, and psychological 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 relies on his therapist regularly, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he encourages everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in 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 stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.
