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

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 lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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 great and tough moments living with diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the low points, 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 open 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 big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans

To thank his fans, 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, along with a shout-out to his A1C.

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

The show was visited by members of a global community — a collective of more than 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, 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 fitting to get reflective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.

Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote early in 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 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 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 belong to that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Progress in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of injections, estimation, and care, as stated by a licensed 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 doctor noted.

“Automated systems began modifying 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 advanced 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 slowing or altering the disease itself are in development.

“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s start was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. 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.

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

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

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

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the challenges and the requirements of living with and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

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

First, he said he learned to be less hard on himself.

“You’re never going to have the ideal day living with 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 pause, 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 apply this early during 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 hydrating 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 physical, 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 venue or on a film set or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

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

Above all, he encourages everyone managing type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.