- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “JONAS20: Greetings from Your Hometown 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 promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate 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 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 two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.
“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful 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 isolated in it,” said Jonas.
The Singer's A1C Announcement to His Audience
To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage 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 three-month period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, perseverance, 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 tap into 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 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 challenges 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 relevant.
“Now I [have] this great, big community that I am part of that has supported me in so many different moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
In the past, 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 injections, estimation, and vigilance, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating combined ‘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 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed 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 develop. 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 additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, mentally, and psychologically.
“I sincerely 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 Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he relies on to handle his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to be less hard on 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 beyond your influence and being able to pause, 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 focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.
“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” he noted. “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 takes 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 fresh 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 regularly, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Above all, he urges everyone managing type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
