- Lead singer Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The band's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary concurrent with 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 holds 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 diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others through his role and through his foundation have brought him joy.
“In summary, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all corners of the world who are navigating their own diabetes journey, 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 His Audience
To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage 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 best 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 worldwide who share 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 obviously very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.
Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes experience, 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 effect it still has to this day with the audience,” he said.
While the song has assumed a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.
“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my outlook is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an important 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 daily. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices replaced 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 combined ‘artificial pancreas’ 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 controlling the condition and delaying 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 replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when glucose levels increase, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“Further progress will absolutely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
However, while another medical professional agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and helping with the burdens and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.
The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he relies on to manage his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.
“You’re never going to have the perfect day living with 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 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 practice this soon after his diagnosis.
Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-hydrated.
“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know precisely 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 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 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 indoors for hours at a concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that personal development,” 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 challenging days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
