| Binge eating disorder (BED) is known as the most common eating disorder with both psychosocial and biological factors involved. In this regard, there is a need to recognize probable disturbances in substances involved in food intake regulation in BED. In this study, we hypothesized that the levels of endocannabinoids, FAAH gene polymorphisms, and appetite regulatory substances are different in overweight and obese women with and without BED. A Binge Eating Scale was used to estimate the prevalence of binge eating disorder in 180 women classified as overweight or obese. The levels of anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), leptin, insulin, and orexin-A were measured by ELISA kits. The subjects were genotyped for polymorphisms of FAAH gene using amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) -PCR. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. About 41.6% (n = 75) of the subjects were diagnosed with BED. Women with binge eating disorder exhibited significantly higher levels of AEA, 2-AG, leptin, and insulin compared to non- BED women (P < .05). Binary logistic regression analysis also showed that AEA, leptin, and insulin were the predictors of having BED after adjusting for BMI (P < .05). In addition, the frequency of A allele of FAAH gene was higher in women with BED compared to women without BED; however, there were no significant differences between these two groups (P = .08). These results supported our hypothesis in the cases of AEA, 2-AG, leptin, and insulin but not orexin and FAAH gene polymorphisms. The findings of the current study provide further evidence concerning the role of these substances in binge eating disorder. |