The effect of cinnamon supplementation on eating disorder indices among people suffering from binge eating disorder: a randomized controlled trial

Binge eating disorder is one of the main eating disorders that is characterized by recurrent binge eating episodes that lead to complications like high blood pressure, diabetes, dyslipidemia, etc. Many psychological and biological factors can lead to binge eating disorder and one of the main physiological reasons is insulin resistance. Cinnamon is an old favorite that has positive effects on insulin sensitivity. So, we examined the effect of cinnamon on binge eating disorder in this study.

This study was conducted on 40 binge eating disorder patients with a BMI between 25 and 39.9 kg/m². They were divided into two groups one of them consumed 6 g of cinnamon per day while the other group consumed 6 g of white wheat as a placebo. Before and after the study we examined weight, height, Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and Binge Eating Scale (BES) scale in all participants and did the statistical analysis.

There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics, gender, height, weight, BMI, education, and marriage status between the two groups. There were no significant changes between BSQ, BES, weight, and height after the study either.

According to our findings, although the weight of the patients in the cinnamon group decreased significantly, after the end of the study, no significant difference was observed in the weight, BMI, and BAS and BSQ indices between the two groups.

The study protocol was registered in the Iran Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) center (IRCT code: IRCT20090822002365N26, Registration date: 2021/11/7).