Higher doses of creatine supplements are linked to increases in overall body weight and BMI, but not to gains in muscle or lean tissue, which may indicate that the weight gain comes from water or...
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
Creatine pulls water into muscle cells, making them swell, and that swelling tells the muscles to grow bigger by making more protein. The extra water and the new muscle tissue together make your total weight go up, but it’s not just water — your muscles are genuinely getting larger.
Most probable mechanism
When you take creatine, it gets absorbed into muscle cells and pulls water in with it, making the cells swell. This swelling triggers signals that tell the muscle to build more protein, leading to bigger muscle fibers and more lean mass. The extra water also adds to overall body weight, which explains why total mass and BMI go up — but it’s not just water, because the muscle itself is growing too.
Oral creatine is absorbed into the bloodstream and transported into skeletal muscle cells via specific creatine transporter proteins
Intracellular accumulation of creatine increases osmotic pressure, drawing water into muscle cells and causing cellular hydration
Cellular hydration activates mechanosensitive and osmotic signaling pathways, including mTOR, which upregulates ribosomal biogenesis and protein translation
Enhanced protein synthesis leads to net accumulation of contractile and structural proteins, increasing muscle fiber size and fat-free mass
The combined increase in intracellular water and muscle protein content elevates total body mass and BMI without proportional fat mass gain
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (0)
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Contradicting (1)
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Creatine supplementation and resistance training: a comparison between novice and experienced lifters - a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis
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