How The Singer's Diabetes Management Has Changed During 20 Years

This year, the number 20 holds particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.

“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “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.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit 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 wonderful people from all corners of the world who are navigating their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans

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 mention 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,” 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 spread a message of resilience, determination, and positivity.

“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 important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get introspective 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 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 impact it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.

While the song has assumed a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I am part of that has lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my outlook is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots 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.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.

“Algorithms began adjusting insulin on their own, creating combined ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved since he was first diagnosed.

“The fact that I can receive instant data 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 treatments aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or altering the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start 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 experimenting with ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar increase, promising a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.

“More advancements will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.

However, while another medical professional agrees that additional innovations will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the burdens and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he relies on to handle 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 important,” he said.

While this is hard 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 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 beneficial.”

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 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 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 take part in the diabetes community.

“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.