We’ve all heard about the benefits of exercise, but can it help slow the effects of aging?
Dr. Darren Candow, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Regina, thinks it’s an idea worth exploring.
Candow is working on a project that combines creatine supplements and resistance training – a common combination for many athletes. Creatine, a naturally-occurring substance found in red meats and seafood, may have the potential to enhance quality of life and harness health care costs related to aging.

“Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of aging. Fifteen percent of the population is 50 years or older, three percent higher than the national average.”

“As we age, we experience a reduction in muscle and bone which inevitably decreases strength and the ability to perform tasks of daily living such as gardening, carrying, groceries and climbing stairs.” Candow says. “Health costs associated with aging muscle and bone loss are in the billions of dollars.”
He began studying creatine while completing his Masters and doctorate with Dr. Philip Chilibeck at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Kinesiology. Candow’s interest continued and he has now participated in 20 of the 1,000 creatine studies world-wide.
Most of us get creatine from our diets and from what our bodies produce naturally. Athletes sometimes take creatine supplements to enhance their performance.
“Creatine basically increases the ability to exercise longer and at a higher intensity, leading to an increase in muscle mass and bone,” Candow says.
His latest research, in collaboration with Chilibeck, will determine the impact on people 50 and older who combine regular resistance training with creatine. The team is the first internationally to study the impact of long-term creatine supplements on muscle and bone in older adults.
“Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of aging. Fifteen percent of the population is 50 years or older, three percent higher than the national average,” he says.
The province also has the highest per capita rate of osteoporosis, deterioration of bone mass, in Canada. In Saskatchewan, more than 60,000 adults over 50 have osteoporosis.
Candow and Chilibeck plan to study 100 healthy men and women aged 50 to 75 starting in January or February 2010.
“The reason we choose age 50 is because that’s when bone and muscles start to deteriorate significantly,” Candow says.
Each volunteer will participate in supervised resistance training – such exercises as leg presses, back extensions, and bicep curls – at the U of R or U of S three times a week, and take low-dose creatine supplements daily.
Their bone density and muscle mass will be checked with Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) before, during and after the year. As participants will start at staggered intervals, the study will take two years to complete.
Grants from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) cover operating expenses, such as hiring research assistants, and the cost of resistance training equipment. Additional training equipment and the DEXA were purchased with a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
This is the second SHRF grant to the U of R’s kinesiology faculty in as many years, with the previous one to Dr. Patrick Neary. Research is on the rise, especially in exercise physiology, because of greater faculty research productivity, the creation of a graduate program, and the availability of federal and provincial funding, Candow says.
Candow is already looking ahead, to build upon what he learns with slow velocity resistance training to study the impact of higher-speed training.

Written by Heather Macdonald. This article first appeared in the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix special section for Health Research Week 2009.