The Way The Singer's Management of Diabetes Has Evolved During 20 Years

In 2025, the number 20 holds particular meaning for iconic singer 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.

“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“Overall, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these amazing people from all regions of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really big thing 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 took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and surprised his audience by sharing an uplifting message of hope, accompanied by 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, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.

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

“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage 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 reflective and to tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-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 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 effect 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 great, big community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

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

“Insulin pumps replaced 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 ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the mental burden 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 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 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 postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.

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

“More advancements will absolutely continue to develop. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

However, while a family physician agrees that further advancements will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

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

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches 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, recalibrate, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” he said.

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

Lately, he has prioritized 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 hydrating 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, mental, and psychological health.

“It really centers 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 venue or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really vital 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 tough days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.