Creatine: A Young Athlete No, No?

Creatine use among young athletes has interested me for the last few years.  As an educator, I see many young students, even at the elementary school level, getting more and more involved in sports and focusing on one particular sport year-round.  They strive to be the best they can be at their particular sports at the exclusion of participation in other sports, and sometimes at the exclusion of any other activities, including schoolwork.

Whether the pressure is internal or coming from external sources, such as parents and coaches, I wonder if and when the young students I see on a daily basis will turn to performance-enhancing supplements to aid their training.  The use of illegal drugs and supplements is constantly in the news as it seems every other week another professional athlete is getting suspended.  This has affected a wide-range of athletes, from minor league baseball players to superstars on the verge of entering the Hall of Fame to a one-time National hero in Lance Armstrong.

In my readings this week, I learned that while creatine is a legal and safe substance to aid in training, it is still not recommended for young athletes.  There are just too many unknowns.

“Creatine Supplementation and Youth,” produced by dotFIT, a supplement supply company, recommended that creatine should be used only by college-age athletes or older athletes who participate in strength and performance-based activities. This would exclude most young athletes because they have growing bodies and should focus on eating and training properly to enhance their performance before turning to performance enhancing supplements.

One article I reviewed “Creatine Use Among Young Athletes,” written by Dr. Jordan D. Metzl, who worked with Sports Medicine Services, Hospital of Special Surgery, Department of Pediatrics at Cornell Medical College in New York, was a study of middle and high school athletes (grade 6-12) on whether they used creatine or thought about using creatine.  He surveyed more than 1,100 students from a suburb of New York City through a questionnaire prior to their annual sports physicals.

He found that 5.6 percent of the respondents admitted to using creatine supplements, with 44 percent of the 12^th graders in the survey admitting usage.  Boys were more likely to take creatine than girls, and those who played in more physical sports, such as football, wrestling, hockey, and lacrosse, were more likely to take the supplements than those in other sports.  The student-athletes reported they took creatine to improve their performance as the top reason but also admitted taking the supplements for physical appearance reasons.

There is little to no research out there on the effects of creatine on young student-athletes, which is a major reason young student-athletes should stay clear of creatine to enhance their performance or appearance.  Students should focus on eating and training to help overall performance.  No one knows what could happen to young athletes if they use creatine, and until more research is done, I hope our young athletes are cautious.

I hope the students I currently teach avoid creatine until they are at least in college and do so under the direction of a doctor or strength and conditioning coach well trained in supplement usage.  I also know that since creatine is legal and appears to be safe, some younger athletes will turn to the supplements before they should.  Hopefully creatine really is as safe as advertised, and if young athletes feel the need to turn to supplements, I guess I would prefer they turned to creatine than to steroids or other questionable drugs and supplements.  I just wish there was more research out there on the effects of creatine on young people.

Is Creatine Safe and Effective for Young Athletes?

dotFIT Cutting Edge Online Fitness & Weight Loss Programs. Creatine Supplementation and Youth. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2013, from http://www.dotfit.com

Metzl, J. D., Small, E., Levine, S. R., & Gershel, J.C. (2001). Creatine Use Among Young Athletes. Pediatrics, 108(2), 421. Retrieved June 28, 2013, from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.sau.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=5005635&site=ehost-live

Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2013). Nutrition: concepts & controversies (13th ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.