The Way The Singer's Diabetes Management Has Transformed During Two Decades

This year, the number 20 holds special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate 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,” 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 fortunate 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 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“In summary, I’m really thankful 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 experiencing their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.

The Singer's A1C Announcement to Fans

To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an uplifting message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.

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

The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide 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’ stage 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 explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.

Jonas offered 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 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 relevant.

“Now I [have] this great, big community that I belong to that has lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic 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 powering through.”

Advancements in Diabetes Management

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, estimation, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

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

“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘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 improved 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 when I am apart from is just an incredible thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new therapies 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 authorized, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

“Responsive insulin” is also being developed 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 emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, mentally, and emotionally.

“I truly 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 commented.

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he leans 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 while managing 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, 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.

Lately, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after 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,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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 physical, cognitive, and emotional 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 concert hall or on a film set or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really important to do that personal development,” Jonas said.

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

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