Nick Jonas lobbies Obama for diabetes funding

June 25, 12:08 PMPortland Wellness ExaminerBrent Sandmeyer

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Nick Jonas testifies on Capitol Hill (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

When you sell over eight million albums before your 17th birthday, your voice sounds a little louder in Washington, D.C. Nick Jonas spent the past two days lobbying everyone who would listen on Capitol Hill, from the President and Congress on down, for increased funding for juvenile diabetes research.

Nick Jonas was diagnosed with juvenile (Type 1) diabetes at the age of 13, and started the charitable foundation Change for the Children to support diabetes care and research. Jonas was joined on the Hill by Mary Tyler Moore and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Over 185,000 Americans under the age of 20 have been diagnosed with Type 1 or 2 diabetes- estimates of undiagnosed people are not available. Diabetes, in which the body loses the ability to regulate blood sugar, is a serious condition which can result in heart, kidney, eye, mouth, and nerve problems.