- Frontman Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries have influenced his life and how he leverages his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride in both… regarding the band, 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.”
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 advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“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 experiencing their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience
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 inspiring message of hope, along with a mention 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 collective of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, determination, and positivity.
“It was really meaningful 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 thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.
Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote early in 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 experiences when I was 14 and to see the impact it still has to this day with the audience,” he said.
While the song has taken on a new significance 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 different moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”
Progress in Diabetes Management
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 constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, as stated by a licensed 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 adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has advanced 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 when I am apart from is just an incredible thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.
“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when glucose levels 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 changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
However, while a family physician concurs that further advancements will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — in terms of health, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the challenges and the requirements of living with and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he leans on to manage 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 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 early during his diagnosis.
Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying hydrated.
“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. 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 bodily, mental, and psychological 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 film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that personal development,” Jonas said.
Above 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 climb this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.
