Creatine

One card per question: one outcome, in one group of people.

16 results: 16 published, 0 pending reviewLast reviewed 26 Oct 2026Data current as of 25 Oct 2026

How to read this page

Each card is one question: what happened to one outcome, in one group of people, when the intervention was compared with the alternative named on the card.
The bars show how sure we are, not how big the effect is. A large effect from weak studies still gets few bars.
The numbers are always there. Open a card to see the studies behind it and the sentence in each paper that a number was read from.

High. We are very confident the real effect is close to what the studies found.
Moderate. The real effect is probably close to what the studies found.
Low. The real effect may be quite different from what the studies found.
Very low. The evidence is very uncertain.
Insufficient. A reviewer found too little evidence to say anything about the effect.
Pending review. Not rated yet. The numbers and sources are shown; a named reviewer still has to rate how sure we can be.

Creatine: one line per result, with certainty, effect, studies and participants. Open a line to see where it comes from.
Outcome	How sure are we?	Effect	Studies	Participants
Creatine monohydrate supplementation
Body fat Adults · Creatine vs control	High	No clear difference	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	High	Higher	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	High	Higher	16studies	509participants
Lower-body strength Adults · Creatine vs placebo	High	Direction not stated	–studies	–participants
Upper-body strength Adults · Creatine vs placebo	High	Direction not stated	–studies	–participants
Upper-body strength Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	High	Small difference	17studies	456participants
Body fat Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	6studies	–participants
Body fat Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo	Moderate	Direction not stated	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo, without exercise training	Moderate	No clear difference	–studies	–participants
Lower-body strength Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	Higher	19studies	395participants
Lower-body strength Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	15studies	426participants
Muscle size Adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	10studies	–participants
Upper-body strength Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	Higher	21studies	433participants
Kidney health markers Adults · Creatine vs control	Low	Small difference	–studies	–participants
Memory Healthy individuals · Creatine vs placebo	Low	Small difference	8studies	225participants

“No clear difference” does not mean “no effect”: the studies may simply be too small to tell.

Loading the grid…

Creatine: one line per result, with certainty, effect, studies and participants. Open a line to see where it comes from.
Outcome	How sure are we?	Effect	Studies	Participants
Creatine monohydrate supplementation
Body fat Adults · Creatine vs control	High	No clear difference	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	High	Higher	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	High	Higher	16studies	509participants
Lower-body strength Adults · Creatine vs placebo	High	Direction not stated	–studies	–participants
Upper-body strength Adults · Creatine vs placebo	High	Direction not stated	–studies	–participants
Upper-body strength Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	High	Small difference	17studies	456participants
Body fat Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	6studies	–participants
Body fat Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo	Moderate	Direction not stated	–studies	–participants
Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo, without exercise training	Moderate	No clear difference	–studies	–participants
Lower-body strength Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	Higher	19studies	395participants
Lower-body strength Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	15studies	426participants
Muscle size Adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	No clear difference	10studies	–participants
Upper-body strength Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training	Moderate	Higher	21studies	433participants
Kidney health markers Adults · Creatine vs control	Low	Small difference	–studies	–participants
Memory Healthy individuals · Creatine vs placebo	Low	Small difference	8studies	225participants

Creatine monohydrate supplementation

Body fat Adults · Creatine vs control

High

No clear difference

–

Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

High

Higher

–

Lean mass Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

High

Higher

509

Lower-body strength Adults · Creatine vs placebo

High

Direction not stated

–

Upper-body strength Adults · Creatine vs placebo

High

Direction not stated

–

Upper-body strength Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

High

Small difference

456

Body fat Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

Moderate

No clear difference

–

Body fat Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

Moderate

No clear difference

–

Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo

Moderate

Direction not stated

–

Lean mass Adults · Creatine vs placebo, without exercise training

Moderate

No clear difference

–

Lower-body strength Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

Moderate

Higher

395

Lower-body strength Older adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

Moderate

No clear difference

426

Muscle size Adults · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

Moderate

No clear difference

–

Upper-body strength Adults (< 50 y) · Creatine vs placebo, with resistance training

Moderate

Higher

433

Kidney health markers Adults · Creatine vs control

Low

Small difference

–

Memory Healthy individuals · Creatine vs placebo

Low

Small difference

225