Creatine and body composition in individuals with obesity: a brief review

Obesity represents a global public health challenge, characterized by excessive body fat accumulation, associated with comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes and sarcopenic obesity. Effective intervention requires body composition modulation, prioritizing fat mass loss and the preservation of Fat-Free Mass (FFM), which is essential for metabolism and insulin sensitivity. In this context, the present study, a Systematic Literature Review, aimed to analyze the impact of creatine (Cr) supplementation, combined with resistance training, on body composition modulation in individuals with obesity. The search was conducted in the PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar databases, filtering for high-quality studies (RCTs and Meta-Analyses) from the last ten years. Creatine was identified as a "gold standard" supplement with dual mechanisms of action: (1) energetic, optimizing the ATP-PCr system to increase strength and training intensity, and (2) anabolic, promoting cell volumization and positively influencing protein synthesis pathways (mTOR) to combat catabolism. Literature findings in clinical populations, such as sarcopenic elderly, suggest that creatine is promising in preserving FFM and increasing strength without inducing fat mass gain. It is concluded that creatine supplementation is a safe and effective adjunct strategy to enhance resistance training in individuals with obesity, optimizing body composition and improving metabolic and functional prognosis.