Creatine for Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Benefits Beyond the Gym

Creatine is well-known as a performance-enhancing supplement for athletes, but its benefits for older populations are gaining more attention in scientific research. A 2026 study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition investigated whether creatine monohydrate could improve body composition, cognitive function, and general health markers in sedentary middle-aged and older adults—even without an exercise program.

Key Takeaways

• Muscle and Strength Gains: Creatine supplementation helped participants maintain lean tissue, strength, and muscular endurance, even in the group that did not perform any exercise.
• Synergy with Exercise: Those who combined creatine with a weight-loss diet and an exercise regimen experienced additional benefits, including a greater reduction in body fat percentage.
• Exploratory Cognitive Findings: The study observed improvements in selected markers of cognitive function and memory for those taking creatine, which the authors classed as exploratory rather than confirmed.
• Favorable Health Markers: Exploratory findings suggested small improvements in blood markers such as blood lipids and HbA1c (a marker of long-term blood sugar).

The Study Design

The researchers recruited 73 healthy, sedentary adults aged 45 to 65, with 64 completing the 12-week trial. Participants chose to enter either a non-exercise group or an exercise and diet intervention group, so exercise allocation was self-selected rather than randomized. Within these groups, individuals were randomized to receive either 10 grams per day of creatine monohydrate (split into two 5-gram doses) or a maltodextrin placebo.

To ensure high-quality data, the study utilized a randomized, double-blind¹, placebo-controlled², parallel-group design. The researchers measured various outcomes, including body composition, physical performance (strength and muscular endurance), cognitive function, and several blood health markers.

The Findings

Over the 12-week period, the results suggest that creatine may help middle-aged and older adults, even outside of a fitness context:

• Body Composition and Performance: Participants taking creatine maintained more lean tissue, strength, and muscular endurance compared to the placebo group. Notably, this was true even for participants in the non-exercise group.
• Body Fat Percentage: For the participants who were in the exercise and diet intervention group, adding creatine produced a greater reduction in body fat percentage than exercise and diet with a placebo.
• Cognitive Function: The creatine groups showed improvements in selected markers of cognitive function and memory compared to placebo. The authors prespecified these task-level results as exploratory and not separately powered, and applied no correction across outcomes, so they are a lead for future trials rather than evidence of a direct effect on brain function.
• Blood Markers: There were small but favorable changes in blood lipids and HbA1c levels, which the authors categorized as exploratory findings.

Analyzing the Study: Strengths & Limitations

Strengths and Reputability

This study was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (JISSN), a highly reputable peer-reviewed journal in the field of sports science and nutrition.

The methodology is robust. Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design is the gold standard for clinical trials, minimizing both researcher and participant bias. Furthermore, splitting participants into exercise and non-exercise groups allowed the researchers to isolate the effects of creatine itself from the benefits of working out.

Limitations

1. Sedentary Population: Because the study specifically recruited sedentary adults, the findings might not completely apply to middle-aged and older adults who have been consistently active or resistance-training for years.
2. Exploratory Findings: The improvements in cognitive function and blood markers were described by the researchers as "exploratory." This means that while the data is promising, larger, targeted studies are needed to confirm these specific effects.
3. Sample Size Breakdown: While 64 participants completed the study, dividing them across four groups (exercise vs. non-exercise, and creatine vs. placebo) means the number of individuals in each specific sub-group is relatively small.
4. Self-Selected Exercise Groups: Participants chose whether to exercise, so comparisons between the exercise and non-exercise arms are not randomized. Only the creatine-versus-placebo comparison within each arm is.

Conflicts of Interest

This study carries a substantial, directly relevant disclosure that readers should weigh. Senior author Richard B. Kreider declares that he serves as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for AlzChem, a company that manufactures creatine monohydrate. He further discloses having conducted industry-sponsored research on creatine, received financial support for conference presentations, served as an expert witness, co-founded the International Society of Sports Nutrition (the society that publishes this journal), and sat on the scientific advisory boards of Oath Nutrition and Trace Minerals. The twelve other authors report no conflicts. On funding, the study was paid for by an unrestricted gift from the WoodNext Foundation to the Texas A&M Foundation, and AlzChem — the company whose advisory board Kreider chairs — provided the supplements used in the study and funded the homocysteine assays. The paper states that the sponsors were not involved in data collection, analysis, or interpretation.

None of that makes the findings wrong. The trial is registered (ISRCTN83081058), but not in advance: the first participant was enrolled in July 2024 and the registration was submitted in April 2025, so it cannot serve as a check against outcomes being reframed after the fact. A positive creatine result, published in the society journal its senior author co-founded, by an author who chairs the advisory board of a creatine manufacturer, is a result worth reading with those relationships in view.

References

1. Chun J, Liu Y, Kibler GL, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation with and without exercise and diet intervention on body composition, cognitive function, and markers of health in middle-aged and older adults. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2026). DOI: 10.1080/15502783.2026.2716273

Glossary

1. Double-blind: A study design where neither the participants nor the researchers interacting with them know who is receiving the active supplement and who is receiving the placebo until the trial is complete. ↩

2. Placebo-controlled: A study where one group receives an inactive substance (like maltodextrin) to compare against the effects of the active supplement, ensuring results are due to the supplement itself. ↩