The Way Nick Jonas' Diabetes Management Has Evolved During Two Decades

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

While the band commemorates 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 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 two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“In summary, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful people from all corners of the world who are navigating their own diabetes path, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” said Jonas.

The Singer's A1C Announcement to Fans

To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform 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 most favorable it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a collective of more than 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, perseverance, and optimism.

“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 personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get introspective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” 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 important 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 impact it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.

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

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has supported me in so many different moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible 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.”

Progress in Diabetes Management

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, guesswork, and care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections.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

“Algorithms began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate 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 straight to 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 therapies aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or modifying the disease itself are in development.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start 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 stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from immune attack,” said the specialist.

“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when glucose levels rises, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.

“Further progress will absolutely 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 further advancements will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the challenges and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he relies on to manage 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 take a deep breath, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” he said.

While this is difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.

Recently, 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 better. I don’t know exactly 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 helpful.”

He also takes 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 relies on his therapist regularly, too.

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

Most of all, he encourages everyone living with 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 remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.