Is Creatine Safe for 13-Year-Olds? What Research Shows

Creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied sports supplements in existence, yet surprisingly little of that research has focused specifically on young teenagers. The studies that do exist in adolescent populations have consistently reported no adverse events, but “no adverse events in a handful of trials” is not the same as a robust safety endorsement for a 13-year-old whose body is still developing. The picture is more nuanced than a simple safe-or-not verdict, and much of what parents and young athletes hear about creatine online ranges from outdated to flat-out wrong.

What the Adolescent Studies Actually Found

A 2021 review of creatine supplementation in children and adolescents examined the available trials and concluded that studies involving adolescent athletes generally showed improvements in performance measures, with no evidence of harmful effects and consistent reports of no adverse events.¹ That sounds reassuring, and it is, but the review itself stressed that the body of literature is limited in scope. We are not talking about dozens of large-scale trials tracking thousands of teenagers over years. We are talking about a small collection of controlled studies, most with modest sample sizes and short durations.

One of those trials looked at young basketball players taking creatine monohydrate alongside a combined training program. The creatine group showed statistically greater improvements in certain jump performance measures compared to the training-only group, and no safety concerns emerged during the study period.² Results like these are typical of what shows up in the adolescent literature: modest performance gains, zero red flags on safety. The catch is that “zero red flags” in a short study with a few dozen participants is not the same confidence level as the adult data, where researchers have tracked creatine users for years.

What About the Kidneys

The kidney question is the one parents ask most, and it is the one with the clearest answer so far. A 2025 systematic review specifically evaluated whether creatine monohydrate posed renal, liver, or cardiometabolic risks in adolescent populations. Across the studies it examined, no clinically meaningful changes were observed in serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate, or other renal biomarkers.³ In one of the included studies, adolescents with treatment-resistant depression took creatine for eight weeks and their kidney markers stayed stable throughout. In another, young female football players supplementing during a competitive season showed renal biomarkers that remained within normal reference ranges the entire time.

The worry about kidneys stems from a reasonable piece of logic: creatine is broken down into creatinine, which the kidneys filter out, so more creatine means more creatinine in the blood. Doctors use creatinine levels as a rough proxy for kidney function, so supplementing with creatine can temporarily bump that number up and make it look like something is wrong when nothing is. This can cause confusion on routine lab work, but it does not mean the kidneys are under stress. Healthy kidneys handle the extra creatinine without difficulty. That said, anyone with a pre-existing kidney condition should talk to a doctor before supplementing, and this applies doubly for a teenager who may not yet know their full health picture.

Cramps, Dehydration, and Other Myths That Will Not Die

If you search online for creatine side effects, you will quickly encounter warnings about muscle cramps, dehydration, and heat intolerance. These claims trace back to anecdotal reports from the 1990s and early 2000s and have been thoroughly investigated since. A systematic review with meta-analysis found no evidence that creatine supplementation hinders the body’s ability to dissipate heat or negatively affects fluid balance. Controlled trials of athletes exercising in the heat showed no adverse effects from creatine at recommended doses.⁴

A separate study tested creatine supplementation specifically in dehydrated men exercising in hot conditions and found that it did not increase symptoms, compromise hydration status, or interfere with thermoregulation.⁵ In fact, some more recent data suggests creatine may actually help with thermoregulation by maintaining blood volume during the early stages of dehydration.⁶ The cramps-and-dehydration narrative persists largely because it was repeated so often in mainstream media that it became conventional wisdom, even as the evidence moved in the opposite direction. For a 13-year-old athlete playing outdoor sports in summer, creatine is unlikely to make heat-related problems worse, but staying hydrated remains important regardless of supplementation.

The DHT and Hormones Question

One concern that circulates in fitness forums is whether creatine affects hormones, particularly dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This traces to a single study of young rugby players in which creatine supplementation over three weeks was associated with a significant increase in the ratio of testosterone converted to DHT.⁷ DHT is a more potent androgen than testosterone and is linked to things like acne and, in genetically predisposed adults, hair loss.

This study has been cited endlessly online, but it is important to keep in perspective. It involved a small group of college-age rugby players, not 13-year-olds. No subsequent study has replicated the finding. A single unreplicated result from a small trial is the kind of evidence that flags a question worth investigating further, not the kind that establishes a causal relationship. For a 13-year-old already in the hormonal upheaval of puberty, adding a supplement that might influence androgen conversion is a legitimate concern to raise with a doctor, but current evidence does not confirm that creatine meaningfully disrupts hormone balance. The honest answer is that we do not have enough data to rule it in or rule it out, especially in early adolescence.

Supplement Purity Is the Underrated Risk

Here is a risk that gets far less attention than it deserves: what is actually in the container. Dietary supplements are not regulated the way pharmaceuticals are. Research has shown that certain supplements may contain undeclared substances, may be mislabeled, and may pose health risks for certain populations.⁸ A 2024 analysis of protein supplements (which often sit alongside creatine on the same shelf and are marketed to the same audience) found measurable levels of potentially toxic metals including cadmium and lead. The weekly intake of cadmium from some products exceeded the tolerable level set by the European Food Safety Authority.⁹

For an adult with fully developed organ systems, trace contamination might amount to a rounding error. For a 13-year-old with a lower body weight and still-developing organs, the margin of safety is thinner. If a teenager is going to supplement with creatine, product quality matters enormously. Third-party testing certifications (like NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport) provide an extra layer of verification that what is on the label matches what is in the tub and that contaminant levels are within acceptable limits. Buying the cheapest tub from an unknown brand is a gamble that adults may choose to take, but it is a harder one to justify for a growing child.

The Behavioral Angle Parents Should Know About

Beyond the direct physiological effects, there is a psychological and behavioral dimension that research is beginning to unpack. A study tracking elite youth athletes over a competitive season found that those who used dietary supplements at the start of the season were more likely to view supplement use as acceptable by the end of it and, notably, reported more favorable attitudes toward doping six months later.¹⁰ Separately, research on adolescent boys found a positive correlation between body dissatisfaction and support for doping in sport, and that boys who consumed supplements like energy drinks and vitamins were also more supportive of doping.¹¹

This does not mean creatine causes doping. The relationship is more subtle: once a young athlete normalizes the idea that performance comes from a product rather than from training, sleep, and nutrition, the door to riskier substances opens a little wider. At 13, the ability to critically evaluate marketing claims and separate a well-studied supplement from a sketchy one is still developing. Parents who allow creatine use might consider framing it carefully, emphasizing that supplements are minor additions to a good training foundation, not shortcuts.

Young Athletes Often Do Not Know What They Are Taking

A survey of young athletes found that only about one in nine could correctly answer basic questions about creatine use. Most relied on their coach as the sole source of information about creatine, and coaches were also the primary information source for many other supplements.¹² Older adolescents were more likely to turn to the internet, which introduces its own problems: social media fitness influencers routinely overstate benefits, downplay risks, and recommend doses based on personal experience rather than evidence.

For a 13-year-old, this knowledge gap is especially risky. A teenager who does not understand what creatine does is unlikely to use it correctly, may take more than necessary, and may combine it with other supplements without understanding potential interactions. If a young teen is going to use creatine, the conversation should happen with an informed adult, ideally a physician or sports dietitian, not a teammate or a TikTok influencer.

How Creatine Works and Why Teens Want It

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found in red meat and fish, and your body also makes it internally. In muscle cells, it gets stored as phosphocreatine, which serves as a rapid-access energy reserve for short, intense bursts of effort. When you sprint, jump, or lift something heavy, your muscles burn through their immediate energy supply (ATP) within seconds. Phosphocreatine helps regenerate that ATP so the muscle can keep going a little longer before fatigue sets in.¹³ That is the entire mechanism in practical terms: more phosphocreatine in the tank means a few extra seconds of peak output.

This is why creatine appeals to young athletes in sports that involve explosive movements. A 13-year-old sprinter, basketball player, or football player hears that creatine can make them faster and stronger and, well, the evidence generally supports that it can add a modest performance edge. But it is worth noting that at 13, the biggest performance gains come from physical maturation, skill development, better sleep, and adequate nutrition. Creatine can offer a marginal boost on top of those fundamentals, but it cannot substitute for any of them. For a teenager who is not yet eating well or sleeping enough, fixing those basics will produce far larger improvements than any supplement.

Dietary Creatine and Growth

An interesting cross-sectional study of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 found that those with higher dietary creatine intake (primarily from meat and fish) tended to be taller, heavier, and have higher BMI. Each additional 0.1 grams of creatine consumed daily through food was associated with a roughly 0.3 cm increase in height after adjusting for other factors.¹⁴ This does not prove that eating more creatine makes kids grow taller. Children who eat more meat may also consume more protein and calories overall, and the study’s cross-sectional design cannot untangle causation from correlation. But it does reinforce that creatine is a normal part of a growing child’s diet, not some foreign chemical. The body already knows what to do with it.

Brain Health and Clinical Uses in Young People

Creatine is not just a muscle supplement. The brain is one of the most energy-demanding organs in the body and maintains its own phosphocreatine reserves. A systematic review of randomized controlled trials found evidence that creatine supplementation may improve short-term memory and reasoning ability, though results were mixed for other cognitive domains and effects were most apparent under metabolic stress like sleep deprivation rather than in well-rested young people.¹⁵ A 2023 review highlighted emerging evidence that creatine may show promise for conditions including traumatic brain injury (with specific mention of concussions in children), depression, and anxiety.¹⁶

On the clinical side, creatine supplementation has been used therapeutically in children for years. Children born with certain creatine metabolism disorders, particularly those involving deficiencies in the enzymes that synthesize creatine, respond positively to oral creatine monohydrate as a treatment. Creatine has also been studied in pediatric patients with muscular dystrophy and other inborn errors of metabolism.¹⁷ Not all creatine-related conditions respond to supplementation; for example, creatine transporter defects limit the brain’s ability to take up creatine even when oral doses are given, and treatment outcomes for that condition are mixed.¹⁸ Still, the fact that creatine has been prescribed to pediatric patients under medical supervision for decades provides at least some indirect comfort about its basic tolerability in young bodies.

Practical Dosing Considerations for Adolescents

Most creatine research in adults uses either a loading protocol (around 20 grams per day for five to seven days followed by a maintenance dose of 3 to 5 grams per day) or a simpler approach of 3 to 5 grams daily from the start. For adolescents, the studies that exist have generally used similar protocols scaled to body weight, and the review literature on children and adolescents notes that these approaches produced the performance benefits and safety profiles described above.¹

A 13-year-old typically weighs less than an adult, so applying the standard adult dose without adjustment may be excessive. A body-weight-based approach, around 0.03 to 0.05 grams per kilogram per day for maintenance, is a reasonable starting framework. For a 45-kilogram teen, that works out to roughly 1.5 to 2.5 grams per day, well below the standard adult maintenance dose. The loading phase, which can cause gastrointestinal discomfort even in adults, may not be necessary; a lower daily dose simply takes a few weeks longer to saturate muscle stores. Splitting the daily dose with meals can reduce the chance of stomach upset.

When Creatine Is Probably Not the Right Move

Even if the safety data is broadly reassuring, context matters. A 13-year-old endurance runner would see little benefit from creatine, since it primarily helps with short bursts of power. A young athlete whose diet is poor, whose sleep is irregular, or who is not following a structured training program has far more impactful levers to pull before turning to supplements. And a teenager who is interested in creatine mainly because of social media pressure or body image concerns deserves a different conversation entirely, one focused on healthy self-image and realistic expectations rather than which powder to buy.

There is also the question of emotional readiness. Managing a supplement correctly requires consistency, an understanding of how it works, and the judgment to stop if something feels wrong. Some 13-year-olds have that maturity; many do not. If a teen cannot reliably eat a balanced diet and drink enough water, adding a supplement to the mix may be putting the cart several miles ahead of the horse. The evidence suggests creatine monohydrate is unlikely to cause direct physical harm at appropriate doses, but “unlikely to cause harm” is a lower bar than “a good idea for this particular kid right now.”