How The Singer's Management of Diabetes Has Transformed Over the Past 20 Years

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

While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 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 an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the ride of a lifetime, and we’ve been so fortunate 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 two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.

“In summary, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all corners of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes path, 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 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 uplifting message of hope, along with a shout-out to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of more than 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread 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 clearly very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to tap into kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-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 journey, to those affected by 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 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 meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I am part of 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 big, busy life while managing this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to powering through.”

Progress in Diabetes Management

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections.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

“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ 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 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.

In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was approved, and research into preserving or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

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

“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. 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 appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the burdens and the demands of living with and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes

Beyond 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 super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence 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 practice this early during his diagnosis.

Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” 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 walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, mental, 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 film set or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist frequently, too.

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

Most of all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.

“There will be positive days, there will be challenging days, but you can climb this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.