Body Building Supplementation – Should Teenagers Take Creatine?

As kids are developing and becoming more involved in competitive sports the temptation is there to take supplements to enhance their performance and to maintain their competitive edge. Those teenagers entering the sport of body building can be easily influenced by their peers as well as the muscle magazines that run ads constantly regarding supplementation. One of the more common ones is creatine. This raises the question should teenagers take creatine?

There is research that suggests short term use of creatine can actually benefit teenagers. Contrary to that there is little evidence to support its long term use. Kids can enhance their performance in sports (including body building) simply by performing daily, consistent activity in their chosen sport. They don’t need supplementation at this stage in their lives. Most physicians and health experts would agree.

The research that is available to us at this point regarding the short and long term use of creatine in teenagers shows conflicting support. One cannot determine the effects of long-term use of the product based on the current research.

Creatine is readily available over the counter and can be easily purchased by teenagers. It is also commonly available online as well. Because of this it will be difficult to prevent teenagers from purchasing and using the product. The answer to should teenagers take creatine can best be answered with open communication between parents, MD and teenagers.

Another concern that teenagers should consider when contemplating using creatine is that many forms of the supplement have not been approved by the FDA. Without this approval one cannot be certain exactly what they are getting or what the effects of the product will be.