How Nick Jonas' Diabetes Management Has Changed Over Two Decades

In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride 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 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.

“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 corners 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 isolated in it,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout 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 inspiring message of hope, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a average 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 over 30,000 people worldwide who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, perseverance, 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 clearly very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get reflective 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 melody he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes journey, 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 experiences when I was 14 and to see the impact it still has to this day with the audience,” 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 lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an important piece to persevering.”

Progress in Diabetes Management

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and care, as stated by a board certified endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.

“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry 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 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.

Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was approved, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when blood sugar increase, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.

“Further progress will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.

However, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the burdens and the requirements of living with and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

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

First, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.

“You’re never going to have the ideal 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 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 hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.

Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying well-hydrated.

“It’s a basic 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 advantages,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”

He also takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, cognitive, and psychological 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 indoors 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 vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Above all, he encourages everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can climb this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.