Creatine Use Rose Sharply in U.S. Teens From 2019 to 2024

TUESDAY, June 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. teens report less anabolic steroid use than they did two decades ago, but more recently, there has been a sharp uptick in creatine use, according to a study published online May 7 in the Annals of Epidemiology.Phil Veliz, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined trends in past-year steroid use, past-year creatine use, and attitudes toward steroid use among U.S. eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students (874,931 adolescents) participating in the Monitoring the Future study (2001 to 2024).The researchers found that most recently, between 2019-2020 and 2023-2024, past-year creatine use increased substantially among both boys (8.71 to 16.57 percent) and girls (1.22 to 3.27 percent). During the full study period (2001-2002 to 2023-2024), past-year creatine use increased from 6.29 to 9.68 percent, overall. Over the long term, past-year steroid use declined from 1.99 percent in 2001-2002 to 0.67 percent in 2023-2024. This decline in steroid use was seen in both boys (2.92 to 0.78 percent) and girls (1.11 to 0.41 percent). Perceived availability of steroids declined over time, with 36.95 percent reporting that steroids were fairly or very easy to obtain in 2001-2002 versus 17.94 percent in 2023-2024. Perceived harmfulness of steroids declined modestly, from 62.10 percent reporting "great risk" in 2001-2002 to 55.79 percent in 2023-2024, driven by a change in perception among boys. "I did this study given the rise in social media trends that glorify toxic gym culture, along with the rise in 'looksmaxxers,'" Veliz said in a statement. "What surprised me was that steroid use did not increase over the past five years among adolescents."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Creatine Use Rose Sharply in U.S. Teens From 2019 to 2024

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