Creatine already is the darling of many professional football and baseball players, as well as college football teams, where it's a common training-table item. Synthetic creatine is made from amino acids. As a dietary supplement, it usually comes in a powder form that is mixed with water and taken daily as part of a weight-lifting program.
Creatine also is found in meats and fish.
A sampling of area high school football coaches found that it was typical for 20 or more students at a school to be using creatine, which is sold in health food stores and by mail order. Long-term studies have yet to be done. And, so far, there has been no research on how creatine might affect the growing bodies of young athletes. The Food and Drug Administration had been investigating whether creatine played a role in the deaths last year of three college wrestlers, including one at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The agency already has said a doctor should be consulted before using the substance, as well as any other dietary supplement.