The Way Nick Jonas' Management of Diabetes Has Evolved Over 20 Years

This year, the number 20 holds particular meaning for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer'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 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 wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.

“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent 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.

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 delighted his audience by sharing an inspiring message of hope, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a three-month period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was attended by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, determination, and positivity.

“It was really meaningful 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 reflective and to tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-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 experience, to those living with the disease.

“It’s a really significant 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 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 outlook is possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and care, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.

“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 bear every day.”

Jonas is impressed with how far technology has advanced since he was first identified.

“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 when I am apart from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or altering 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 gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating 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 rises, offering a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.

“Further progress will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

Nevertheless, while another medical professional agrees that additional innovations will continue to appear, 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 requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he leans on to handle his diabetes.

First, he said he learned to be less hard on himself.

“You’re never going to have the perfect day living with 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 apply this early during his diagnosis.

Lately, 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 more stable. 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 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 physical, cognitive, and emotional health.

“It really centers 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 concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist frequently, too.

“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Above all, he encourages everyone living with type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.