Every time we think there's already enough studies telling us how great creatine is,
another study comes along to remind us that there is no such thing as enough in science.
And this time, we're shifting our focus to something we don't often associate with creatine,
and that is bodyfat.
Let's see what this is all about.
Again, creatine isn't much known for its effect on bodyfat.
Mostly, its known for its impact on exercise performance and, to a lesser extent, muscle
growth.
So, can creatine supplementation indeed also affect our body fat composition?
Well, based on this new study, the answer is, maybe, but not exactly in a traditional
sense.
First, a quick breakdown: This study is a meta-analysis that combined and analyzed the
data of 12 relevant creatine studies, tallying 266 total participants.
The analysis specifically focused on studies with participants under the age of 50 and
included a resistance training intervention.
The primary outcomes measured were bodyfat percentage and fat mass.
And now for the results.
Compared to resistance training alone, resistance training with creatine supplementation led
to a small but statistically significant 1.19% greater reduction in bodyfat percentage.
Not too shabby, and one would think this clearly shows that creatine can at least somewhat
help with body fat.
Well, until we realize that the results also show that creatine supplementation did not
lead to greater reduction in actual losses in fat mass.
So, what does this mean?
Well, if bodyfat percentage did reduce more yet fat mass did not, then that simply means
that the opposing piece of the bodyfat percentage equation must have gone up.
And in that case, it would be fat-free mass, which is commonly, but not always correctly,
interchangeable with changes in muscle mass.
That's right, the only way for the participants taking creatine to have greater reductions
in bodyfat percentage was by having greater increases in muscle.
Which... we kind of already knew creatine can do.
So does that mean this new study essentially tells us nothing new?
I n a sense, yes, but there are some caveats to consider.
First, it's never a bad thing to have data directly measuring a specific outcome regardless
of whether we can already imply the results based on existing outcomes.
There's nothing ever really wrong with having more data.
But, also, the greater increase in muscle mass doesn't explain the results entirely.
You see, muscle growth is normally done under an anabolic environment, which is normally
created by consuming more nutrients than your body needs, or eating in a calorie surplus.
And with a surplus, you can see greater increases in muscle mass, but it also has a propensity
to increase fat mass.
So, the fact this study showed an increase in muscle but not an increase in fat, does
suggest that there might be a bit more going on.
Could it be that creatine does provide something extra?
Or maybe it's just creatine improving performance, which can lead to more calories burned?
The researchers here did not a have a clear explanation for this, which funnily enough,
means we need even more research on creatine still.
But not only that, these findings do not cover the most common scenario for people trying
to reduce their fat mass in the first place, and that is being on a weight loss diet and
probably doing cardio to create a calorie deficit.
If we add creatine to that mix instead, would we see even better fat loss results?
Again, that means more research is needed.
And for the sake of transparency, I do wanna point out that some authors of this study
do have several conflicts of interests pertaining to the creatine supplement industry.
Now, that doesn't necessarily negate the findings, but it is worth considering when interpreting
the data.
That said, again, I want to reiterate that new data is always a good thing, regardless
of the outcome.
And as we see now, with the results of this new study, it actually presents a few more
useful questions that researchers can attempt to answer down the line.
In the end, whether you want to take creatine to improve your fat composition is up to you,
but unfortunately, the science isn't backing you up on that just yet.
Hey, at least the added muscle mass is better than nothing.
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creatine loving friends.
Subscribe for more and let me know what you think about the research in the comments.
As always, thank you for watching and don't forget to get your protein!