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Creatine is likely one of the most generally used sports activities dietary supplements internationally. It is taken by many within the hopes of boosting power, enhancing athletic efficiency and selling muscle progress.
But it surely is not solely adults who’re utilizing this complement. A rising variety of youngsters and younger adults report taking creatine within the hopes of reaping the complement’s advantages.
Surveys present that as many as 72% of male athletes aged 17–18 report utilizing creatine. Use is often extra frequent amongst athletes, particularly younger males.
Whereas creatine is usually thought of to be secure for younger folks to make use of, it is no shortcut to getting match. It is higher for younger folks trying to get robust or enhance their athletic efficiency to deal with the basics: exercising, consuming correctly and prioritizing sleep.
Creatine is a pure compound saved inside muscle. Though a small quantity is produced within the kidneys and liver, most (round 95%) is obtained from consuming meat and seafood. Creatine performs an necessary position in offering vitality throughout high-intensity actions, reminiscent of sprinting and lifting weights.
Though a number of types of creatine are commercially accessible, creatine monohydrate is essentially the most secure and extensively studied kind.
Quite a few research present that creatine supplementation enhances efficiency in high-intensity workout routines requiring power and energy, reminiscent of power coaching and sprinting. Creatine supplementation may result in extra muscle progress when mixed with resistance coaching, and sooner restoration from train.
Rising analysis additionally means that creatine’s advantages prolong past the fitness center. Research point out that creatine might enhance elements of cognitive perform—particularly reminiscence and a focus.
Creatine additionally reveals promise for older adults in stopping muscle loss and defending towards neurological issues reminiscent of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Creatine’s security
A typical weight loss plan that features meat and seafood gives round 1–2 grams of creatine per day, which retains the muscle tissues round 60–80% stuffed with creatine.
Taking a day by day creatine complement finally fills the muscle tissues with creatine. There are two frequent methods to do that.
The quickest and mostly studied methodology entails a one-week loading part. This entails taking 0.3 grams of creatine per kilogram of physique weight 4 instances a day. For instance, a 75kg particular person would take a complete of 24g of creatine per day.
Another strategy, which will increase muscle creatine ranges extra steadily, is to take 3g of creatine per day for round 28 days.
Each approaches will fill muscle creatine shops. The primary (loading) strategy tops up creatine shops sooner, which suggests you may see advantages to train efficiency sooner. Nonetheless, the second strategy is much less more likely to trigger short-term gastrointestinal discomfort (reminiscent of bloating and diarrhea), that are extra frequent when utilizing the loading strategy.
No matter what strategy you employ, taking 3–5 g of creatine day by day is important to keep up muscle creatine ranges.
Quite a few research present that brief and long-term creatine supplementation (as much as 30g a day for 5 years) is secure and has no sick results on well being when taken on the beneficial dosages.
The most typical facet impact of creatine is weight achieve because the complement will increase water retention in muscle tissues. This additional water stays solely so long as you are taking creatine.
Creatine and younger folks
Though creatine is proven to be secure and efficient for adults, only some research have investigated the consequences amongst youngsters and adolescents.
The accessible research present that creatine seems to be secure for younger folks to make use of and may present efficiency advantages, significantly for athletes. Most research have solely seemed on the security of a creatine dosage between 0.1g and 0.3g per kg of physique mass per day. As such, it is necessary that any younger individuals who select to make use of creatine don’t exceed this dosage.
Though creatine seems to be secure for youngsters and adolescents to take, it’s doable that, with out correct diet training and supervision of dosing, they may very well be susceptible to misusing creatine—probably resulting in antagonistic results reminiscent of abdomen cramps.
A research that evaluated younger athletes’ understanding of how sports activities dietary supplements must be used reported that solely 11% of the athletes answered questions appropriately about creatine use.
No matter age, it is necessary to acknowledge that dietary supplements reminiscent of creatine are usually not a shortcut to bettering health, constructing muscle or shedding physique fats. Dietary supplements present a lot smaller efficiency positive aspects in comparison with what might be achieved by good coaching and diet alone. Whereas sports activities dietary supplements help coaching and restoration, important progress comes from constant train, a balanced weight loss plan and sufficient sleep.
With a well-designed coaching program and wholesome consuming plan, younger folks will expertise fast enhancements in power, energy and endurance with out the necessity for dietary supplements. Focusing too quickly on taking dietary supplements may distract younger folks from constructing good coaching habits and wholesome consuming patterns.
That is why most sport nutritionists advocate utilizing a food-first strategy, which focuses on maximizing weight loss plan high quality earlier than recommending dietary supplements reminiscent of creatine.
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