15 year old football player wants to try creatine ?

My son is 15 years old and is a high school football player, he keeps asking me to try creatine?


Answer:

There's no right or wrong answer to this question. Half the people you ask will say not to use it until the age of 18, while the other half will say that it's fine.

What we do know is that there's no studies which conclude that creatine will have a negative effect on people under the age of 18. However the other side of the coin is that there's no long term study showing it's safe for teenagers.

There's also a bit of a slippery slope when you OK someone who's 17 to take creatine because they're "almost" 18, but then all the 16 year olds start pleading their case.

So an easy recommendation would be to wait until your son is 18. That being said, don't be scared or worried if your son does take creatine without you knowing it. There's a very high chance that it will not cause any harm.

If your son does decide to use creatine, make sure he uses it responsibly. This is another reason why these supplements aren't recommended to younger teenagers because they aren't responsible. Side effects will probably only occur if way too much is taken. So review this how to use creatine article.

Another reason why your son probably doesn't need creatine is because it won't help him that much. At 15 he's still growing naturally and adding creatine probably won't increase his performance that much. The best thing he can do is get a real good nutrition foundation in place. Learn and focus on proper nutrition and meal planning. This is probably much more beneficial and the type of advice most experts will give you. Also at 15, focusing on skill and technique is more beneficial because his body is still growing naturally.

From a legal standpoint I don't think supplement companies, personal trainers or various types of instructors are allowed to recommend supplements to people under the age of 18. For that reason I would not recommend it although I have already stated that this information is not medical advice.

The main reason for this is because we don't know if any medical health concerns are associated with your son. So from the legal side of things, you will find that other trainers and experts probably won't recommend creatine for people under the age of 18.

So bottom line, it's probably better to wait, but don't worry if he does decide to use creatine, it is highly unlikely that it will have a negative effect.