Creatine is extremely popular with adult athletes, many of whom believe it gives them a performance-enhancing boost. But does creatine offer any ergogenic benefits to young performers? A group of sport scientists based at the University of San Francisco have examined all the available research in a bid to establish a rationale for creatine supplementation in child and adolescent athletes.

The main argument for the use of creatine in this age group is that children struggle to use and reproduce creatine phosphate and ATP effectively, so limiting their ability to regenerate high energy phosphates during exercise. Creatine supplementation, it is suggested, could help children improve their performances in high- intensity exercise. However, there is a lack of compelling evidence to support this theory and a number of arguments against it. Here are the main ones:

• Children are not mini adults and have a greater reliance on aerobic rather than anaerobic metabolism. If the goal of creatine supplementation is to enhance anaerobic metabolism, it would therefore have a limited effect;
• Adolescents appear able to regenerate high-energy phosphates during high-intensity exercise and improve performance in short-term high-intensity exercise through training, therefore reducing the need for supplementation.
• Performance during growth tends to be limited by mechanical factors rather than by the relative contribution of the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems.
• The long-term safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation has not been established in children and adolescents.

However, the arguments for and against creatine supplementation in children and adolescents are derived from an extremely limited number of studies. A significant amount of research is needed to enable us to fully understand the metabolic changes that accompany growth before we can even start to consider the efficacy and safety of creatine supplementation. With this in mind the research team concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the use of creatine by children and adolescents.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol 15, no 4, 524-528

Nick Grantham