- 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 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey in both… in the Brothers sense, 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.”
Parallel to the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“In summary, I’m really thankful 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 experiencing their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout 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 uplifting 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,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a network of more than 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, perseverance, and positivity.
“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 natural to get introspective and to tap into kind 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 at the start of his career and diabetes journey, 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 vast, supportive community that I am part of that has supported me in so many different moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.
“Algorithms began adjusting insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the mental burden 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 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.
In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when blood sugar rises, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the challenges and the requirements of living with and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he relies on to manage his diabetes.
First, 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 take a deep breath, reset, 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 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 hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much focus 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, mental, 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 indoors for hours at a venue or on a film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist regularly, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he urges everyone managing type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
