The Way The Singer's Diabetes Management Has Changed Over Two Decades

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

While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman'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.”

Parallel to the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.

“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all regions 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 alone 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 delighted his audience by sharing an inspiring message of hope, along with 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 visited by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, determination, 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 clearly very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get reflective and to tap into kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.

Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody 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 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 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 am part of that has lifted me up in so many various 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 important piece to powering through.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, estimation, and care, as stated by a board certified endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.

“Algorithms began adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift 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 identified.

“The fact that I can receive instant data of my glucose straight to 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 incredible thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes 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 gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.

“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar increase, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.

“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

Nevertheless, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of living with and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he leans on to manage his diabetes.

To begin, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.

“You’re never going to have the ideal day while managing this disease and even if you’re super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little out of your control and being able to pause, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.

While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to apply this soon after his diagnosis.

Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying 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 drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” said Jonas. “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 takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, cognitive, 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 indoors 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 vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Most of all, he urges everyone managing type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.

“There will be positive days, there will be challenging 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 difficult times,” he concluded.