9 Powerful Creatine Statistics (Usage, Effects, & More)

Creatine is arguably one of the most popular and well-studied sports supplements in the history of mankind. In fact, the U.S. creatine market exploded to $428.3 million in 2020.

The creatine research and success stories are nothing short of fascinating. But how much do you really know about the powder gymnasts, wrestlers, weightlifters, and cyclists swear by?

Check out these 9+ powerful (yes, pun intended) creatine statistics!

Student-Athletes Using Creatine

1. Of 1,103 young athletes surveyed, 62 — or 5.6% — admitted to using creatine.
2. That same survey discovered that creatine use was reported in grades six through 12.
3. Creatine use stood at 44% amongst 12th-grade athletes.
4. Boys are much more likely to use creatine than girls (8.8% vs. 1.8%).
5. Children as young as ten supplement with creatine, according to 2001 research.
6. Five percent of the 1,000 student-athletes surveyed from Westchester County (New York) admit to using creatine.
7. Nearly half of all high school athletes using creatine (44%) do so for the physical and athletic performance benefits.

Why Student-Athletes Turn to Creatine

Why are athletes as young as ten years old mixing this powder into their water bottles? In all likelihood, It goes much deeper than becoming a team captain or setting new school records.

The Pro Athlete Dream

In a 2015 poll of 500 children, 16% percent of boys dreamed of becoming pro athletes. Yet, only 6% of high school athletes will play in the NCAA; just 2% of them will enter a pro league.

Unless you’re a natural-born athlete, the only way to “race” to the top, catch a recruiter’s eye, and earn a spot on elite travel teams is by out-training and out-pacing your peers.

Creatine offers a leg-up where diet and training end.

(Not to mention, about half of all NFL players supplement with creatine, and 93% of 1,500 teen athletes surveyed considered professional athletes to be “motivational.”)

The Pressure to Look Fit

Twenty-two percent of young men aged 18–24 report a desire to build muscle that often leads to disordered eating — a mindset that likely dates back to their high school days.

The mass-building perks of creatine allow impressionable young teens to bulk up and match society’s expectations for young men.

Their Friends Are Doing It

More than 25% of 12–14-year-olds and 15%+ of 15–18-year-olds find the opinions and advice of their peers to be more persuasive than adults’.

It’s safe to say that 44% of high school athletes using creatine didn’t all decide to use the supplement individually. Word spreads quickly in the locker room, on the bus, and at practice.

If their teammates on the D-line are using it, they’re more likely to hop on the bandwagon.

What High School Athletes Say

Who better to ask than high school athletes themselves? The two most popular reasons for using creatine in high school were increased strength (70.2%) and improved power (63.6%).

Weight gain (56.2%), better endurance (41.1%), and increased speed (35.3%) were the next most reported justifications.

Is Creatine Safe for Young Athletes?

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Sports Medicine, and American Academy of Pediatrics are all hard no’s on the topic — teens don’t “need” creatine.

But while 39% of health food stores recommended creatine to callers posing as underage football players, very few medical experts would support teens using performance supplements.

However, it’s not because creatine wouldn’t deliver a competitive edge to aspiring sprinters, wrestlers, football players, or swimmers.

In fact, a meta-analysis from 2018 cited several studies where creatine was quite effective in young athletes; participants in those studies experienced:

• Improved swim sprint performance — 21g of creatine per day for nine days
• Boosted swim bench test performance — After loading & 5g per day for 22 days
• Enhanced soccer skills — 30g per day for 30 days
• Better power output in elite soccer players — 0.03g per kilogram per day

Unfortunately, the answer boils down to a lack of research on the safety front. As of 2018, no studies have analyzed the safety of creatine in youth and adolescent athletes directly.

Yet, the International Society of Sports Nutrition supports creatine use if — and only if:

• Teens and youth use it under supervision (i.e., with a doctor’s approval).
• The athlete is training competitively under supervision.
• They’re eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet.
• The competitor is aware of the correct dosage and follows the recommendation.

So is creatine safe for young athletes? It can be … if you meet the above criteria. However, you should discuss it with your physician first!

Youth Sports With Highest Rates of Creatine Usage

According to a 2002 study of 4,011 student-athletes attending Wisconsin high schools, 25% of male athletes supplementing with creatine were most likely to play:

Sport	Percentage of Athletes Using Creatine
Football	30.1%
Swimming	28.4%
Hockey	28.0%
Baseball	26.5%
Basketball	24.6%

Creatine usage was much lower in female athletes — just 4% admitted to creatine use. The highest rates were amongst track athletes (5.4%), gymnasts (4.7%), and tennis players (4.6%).

Creatine Production in the Human Body

8. Creatine, which occurs naturally in seafood and red meats, is also found within the body. The body stores about 95% of creatine within the muscle, with 5% residing in the testicles (in men) and the brain.
9. The body naturally produces creatine in the kidneys, liver, and pancreas. This amino acid also plays a vital role in energy production, with 80% of produced ATP stemming from the creatine kinase reaction during intense exercise.

Do You Really Need Creatine Supplements?

The natural creatine stored in the body’s skeletal muscle is replenished daily at a rate of about 1–2g/day. (It’s a non-essential amino acid, meaning the body can manufacture its own version.)

A diet rich in plant and animal sources (poultry, meat) will also yield a similar amount of creatine.

But is that 2–4g of creatine a day enough to meet your physique or athletic goals? In most cases, your body’s naturally made creatine combined with your diet is more than enough.

You don’t need creatine to build muscle, improve strength, or enhance athletic performance.

But Daft Punk — probably unintentionally — explained the athletic benefits of creatine best: “Harder, better, faster, stronger.”

With greater stamina and faster muscle recovery, creatine can:

Build More Lean Mass (& Faster)

The greatest draw of creatine is the added muscle mass and how quickly the body bulks. So in 2017, researchers analyzed the results of 22 studies involving creatine.

One of the most significant findings was that the creatine groups built an average of ~1.37 kilograms (or 3.02 pounds) more lean mass than participants in the placebo group.

Other studies came to similar conclusions.

One found that creatine encouraged elite athletes to build 5.7 pounds of muscle, while another pinpointed a 2.2% spike in lean mass (plus a 3.2% dip in fat mass).

Add Digits to Your 1RMs

With a greater energy production (ATP), creatine can also naturally inflate your 1RMs and PRs for some well-deserved bragging rights.

During a 4-week-long bench press study, creatine users added an average of 15 pounds to their bench press.

Another 12-week study discovered impressive results, too.

Not only did muscle creatine levels spike within a week, but participants also ended the program with a 24% heavier bench and a 32% weightier squat (vs. 16% and 24% in the placebo group).

The heavier you lift, the more muscle tearing, and the greater the strength and mass gains!

Energize Your Training Sessions

Creatine also doubles as a fatigue-fighter and energy-booster during high-intensity workouts, such as rowing sprints, 5×5 deadlifts, and 3RM bench press attempts.

The body pulls energy from its creatine stores to support muscle contraction.

In return, your muscles can withstand 10+ seconds of near-maximal exertion or power output. Creatine also boosted mean power output in a 10-second handgrip test by 15.1% (2003).

How Much Creatine Do You Need?

Unless you’re following a vegan or vegetarian diet low in natural creatine sources (like seafood or red meat), the answer is technically “none.” But what if you want to bulk up and set new PRs?

Should you take one 5g capsule a day? More? Less?

In the supplement world, more isn’t always better. So how much is a “safe” amount of creatine?

Some health experts recommended starting with what’s called a “loading phase.” This 5–7-day period is when you’ll maximize your muscle creatine storage with higher doses (0.3g/kg/day).

For most, that’ll be about 20g — or four 5g scoops — per day, ideally split into 2–4 doses. From there, you’ll drop down to a maintenance dose of about 2–10g per day.

However, creatine loading isn’t the only way to reap the supplement’s benefits. Though it’s much slower, you can also saturate your muscles with 3g/day for 28 straight days.

Creatine Effects & Statistics

10. Creatine in the brain surges 5–15% when supplementing with creatine, a result of more energy and oxygen delivered to the brain.
11. Five grams of daily creatine taken for six weeks improved the high-pressure intelligence test and working memory performance in 45 study participants.

The Lesser-Known Benefits of Creatine

Aside from the benefits in the gym, on the scale, and while flexing in front of the mirror, what are the other advantages of creatine?

Over the years, creatine’s well-studied benefits led scientists across the globe to an epiphany: if this amino acid supplement can boost brain power and mass, just how far can those perks go?

Creatine has since been studied as a treatment for conditions like:

Depression

In some clinical trials, creatine lowered depression scores in as few as four weeks (23.1 to 12.6), and scores dipped by 79.7% in another eight-week trial.

Muscle Disorders

An analysis of six muscular dystrophy trials found that creatine could boost muscle strength by a massive 8.47% more than the placebo group.

Brain Injury

A 2008 pilot study revealed that creatine could reduce the side effects of traumatic brain injury in children, including dizziness, fatigue, and length of hospital stay.

The Future of Creatine for Treatment

However, there’s still plenty of research to be done. For example, in 2015, scientists disproved the long-held myth that creatine can slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

Emotional & Mental Benefits

The most impressive benefits of creatine are those considered “off-label” — the mental and emotional benefits. Research shows that creatine use could:

• Lower mental fatigue after a test
• Improve memory in those consuming a low-creatine diet (i.e., vegans)
• Boost working memory after sleep deprivation
• Enhance abstract reasoning skills

Unfortunately, although creatine can help chisel away at a life-changing physique and boost cognitive and brain functioning, it’s also far from some “miracle cure.”

Creatine’s Side Effects: Are They Worth It?

If you research creatine use in the long-term, you’ll likely notice a trend: most sources label creatine as “safe” … for up to five years when taken at a rate of 10g per day.

Yet, that doesn’t mean the supplement suddenly becomes unsafe on year five, day one. There’s simply very little research analyzing the possible safety concerns beyond five years.

Many have taken creatine for ten, fifteen, twenty years without a single side effect.

What the Research Says About Creatine’s Side Effects

But what are the possible consequences of dosing with creatine? An article published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition set out to answer a few questions:

• Will creatine use cause water retention? Yes, but only for the first few days as creatine boosts intracellular volume.
• Does creatine count as a steroid? Though creatine can enhance lean mass while decreasing fat mass, it’s not an anabolic steroid.
• Can creatine cause kidney damage? Creatine is safe on the kidneys, though doctors do not recommend the supplement for those with pre-existing renal diseases.
• Will creatine lead to baldness? Creatine can increase levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the body, which has links to baldness, but there’s little evidence creatine will make you bald.
• Does creatine trigger muscle cramping? No, creatine will not dehydrate you, nor will it leave you with painful muscle cramps. However, it’s still a good idea to drink plenty of water, especially if you’re using creatine on a fast.

Despite plenty of evidence dismantling the anti-creatine platform, many still believe these myths decades later.

The Real Side Effects of Creatine

Like virtually any sports supplement on the market (such as pre-workout powders), creatine can cause some uncomfortable side effects. The most widely reported creatine side effects were:

• GI upset like diarrhea, nausea, or temporary bloating, though this is most common when taking larger doses at once (i.e., 10g)
• Weight gain, which is one of the primary reasons athletes use the supplement

Some users also report onion-scented body odor when using creatine, though a stronger antiperspirant and more frequent showering can quickly resolve this potential side effect.

Creatine Responders

12. With a near-50/50 split of slow and fast-twitch muscles, the average person will respond well to creatine. However, those with 30% slow-twitch and 70% fast-twitch reap even greater benefits.

Who Should Use Creatine? (Who Benefits Most?)

The connection between muscle fiber type and maximizing creatine benefits is quite fascinating, though not all that surprising from the scientific perspective.

That’s because the body stores most of its creatine in the type II (fast-twitch) muscle fibers responsible for short burst, high-intensity exercises (i.e., 40-yard sprints, 5×5 weightlifting).

If you’re genetically blessed with more fast-twitch fibers, your body will also have naturally high creatine levels.

While anyone can use creatine, it’s most beneficial for athletes engaging in short-burst exercise where speed and power matter most, like:

• Sprinters
• Short-distance swimmers
• Short-distance rowers
• Weightlifters
• Cyclists (power)
• Fans of high-intensity interval training (HIIT)

Creatine is rarely effective in boosting athletic performance for endurance-based activities.

FAQ

What Percentage of People Use Creatine?

Research shows that about 28% of Division I athletes use creatine, though 68% have heard of the supplement. Males athletes are also much more likely to supplement with creatine than females (48% vs. 4%, respectively). All but two teams surveyed had past team-wide creatine use above 30%.

What Percent of High School Athletes Use Creatine?

Eight percent of high school athletes polled admitted to using the strength-enhancing supplement creatine to gain an athletic edge on the court or field. Yet, while more likely to use creatine than their peers, these rates are still lower than college athletes (32%) and pro football players (<75%).

Conclusion

With so many benefits and few side effects, creatine is one of the best and safest fitness supplements for those looking to improve their performance and sculpt aesthetic physiques.

But if you really want to maximize those goals, don’t forget to use these supplements too:

• Protein powder to encourage muscle recovery and repair
• Pre-workout powder to get the most out of your speed or power-based workouts
• BCAAs to potentially reduce recovery time and muscle soreness post-workout
• Multivitamins to fill any slight gaps in your nutritional profile
• Fish oil to possibly lessen muscle swelling and boost performance

More importantly, eat a balanced diet rich in protein and choose a training plan that matches your goals and experience levels. None of these supplements can replace either of those.