By Rob Shaul
BLUF:
Creatine supplementation during resistance training reliably increases muscle mass and modestly decreases fat mass. Across 12 controlled trials, creatine users gained about 1.1 kg more lean body mass and lost 0.7 kg more fat than non-supplemented participants, independent of training experience, session volume, or carbohydrate pairing. Creatine remains the most consistently effective and well-supported supplement for improving body composition through strength training and in addition to low carb whey protein, is the only nutritional supplement MTI endorses.
Overview
A 2024 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research examined how creatine supplementation affects body composition changes during resistance training in adults under 50. The authors (Desai et al., University of New South Wales) screened 1,694 studies and included 12 randomized controlled trials involving 362 participants. Their goal: quantify how much creatine enhances lean body mass gains and fat loss compared to resistance training alone .
Key Findings
1. Lean Body Mass
Across studies, participants who took creatine while resistance training gained an additional 1.14 kg of muscle compared to those training without it. These gains occurred regardless of training status — both trained and untrained participants benefited similarly.
The researchers noted that while some short-term weight gain from water retention is possible, the overall increases in muscle likely reflect genuine hypertrophy. Creatine enhances muscle growth by increasing phosphocreatine stores (improving training volume and load – i.e. you can lift more weight for more reps) and potentially signaling for greater protein synthesis through cell hydration and satellite cell activation.
2. Fat Mass and Body Fat Percentage
Creatine supplementation also led to small but statistically significant reductions in body fat. Participants taking creatine lost an average of 0.73 kg more fat and reduced their body fat percentage by 0.88% compared to controls. The authors emphasized that this reduction was independent of increases in muscle mass, suggesting a possible metabolic effect—though mechanisms remain unclear. Previous research has shown that creatine may increase resting metabolic rate and total work capacity during training, both of which could contribute to the observed fat loss effect.
3. Carbohydrate Co-ingestion and Training Volume
Many studies have combined creatine with carbohydrate supplements, theorizing that insulin could enhance creatine uptake into muscle. However, this review found no additional benefit from concurrent carbohydrate ingestion — creatine alone provided the full hypertrophic effect.
Similarly, training volume did not influence the effect size. Whether participants completed lower or higher weekly training volumes, the additional muscle mass gain from creatine remained consistent.
Practical Application
A daily dose of 7 grams (or ~0.3 g/kg bodyweight) was sufficient to increase muscle mass by about 1 kg and reduce fat by 0.7 kg over roughly 6–10 weeks of training. The effect was consistent across trained and untrained individuals.
For coaches and athletes, this confirms that creatine supplementation remains the most effective, evidence-backed nutritional aid for increasing muscle mass when combined with resistance training — and may also support modest fat loss. Carbohydrate pairing, once thought to enhance uptake, appears unnecessary for these outcomes.
Source:
Desai, I., Wewege, M. A., Jones, M. D., Clifford, B. K., Pandit, A., Kaakoush, N. O., Simar, D., & Hagstrom, A. D. (2024). The effect of creatine supplementation on resistance training–based changes to body composition: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 38(10), 1813–1821.