Creatine has spent decades tied to gym culture, bulk supplements and male bodybuilders chasing bigger lifts. That image is fading fast on TikTok and Reddit, where women are reframing the supplement entirely.

A cross-sectional survey distributed through supplement-tracking platform SuppCo found just 37.5 per cent of women cited athletic performance as their main reason for using creatine, against 50.2 per cent of men. Healthy ageing mattered more to women instead.

Women were also between 3.9 and 7.5 times more likely than men to fall into shorter-duration user groups, after adjusting for age and other factors such as body mass index. The findings suggest a shift in who takes creatine, and why.

From Gym Bros to Cognition

That shift shows up directly on TikTok, where female creators post short 'before-and-after' style videos built around fitness and muscle maintenance rather than bodybuilding. Reddit threads function as a trust-validation layer buyers consult before acting on a health claim.

A review published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found creatine supplementation can improve strength, lean mass and cognitive performance in older adults, including women. An earlier review noted that women naturally hold 70 to 80 per cent lower creatine stores than men.

Creatine acts as a substrate for the creatine kinase reaction, helping regenerate ATP during high-intensity effort. The review noted a routine dose of 5g daily for four weeks, or higher brain-saturation doses of 15 to 20g daily for three to seven days, can be effective for women.

That gap may explain changes in mental clarity among women, the review suggested. It also linked creatine to improved mood and cognition alongside physical gains when combined with resistance training.

For post-menopausal women specifically, the review linked creatine and resistance training to improvements in bone mineral density. Researchers said hormonal changes across the female lifecycle, particularly involving oestrogen, help explain these effects.

Survey Reveals Shifting Habits

The SuppCo survey drew from roughly 3,300 users who began the questionnaire, with 2,233 completing it. The duration-based analysis focused on 2,094 current or recent creatine users, evenly split between men and women, with an average age of 53.

Men dominated among those using creatine for three years or more, while women were concentrated in shorter-use categories. That gap held even after adjusting for age and other factors.

Women were also more likely to first hear about creatine through podcasts, specialists and social media, while men leaned on YouTube and research articles. Men and women differed in discovery habits across six of the seven sources tracked.

Knowledge scores were generally lower among women with shorter usage histories, though this reflected uncertainty rather than false beliefs. Confidence rose more sharply with knowledge among men, widening to a 0.38-point gap at the highest level.

A New User Profile Emerges

Researchers behind the survey said the data reflects midlife women adopting creatine for different reasons than the traditionally male, performance-driven user base. Menstrual, pregnancy and menopausal status were not captured, and further research was called for.

The study received no external funding, though SuppCo provided the platform and recruitment infrastructure and owns the resulting dataset. Two of the study's authors were SuppCo employees, and two worked for Function Health.

Sample limitations, including a low response rate, were also acknowledged by the study's authors. Even so, both pieces of research point the same way: creatine's identity is shifting from a bodybuilding staple to a broader brain-and-fitness supplement increasingly embraced by women on TikTok and Reddit.

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