The associations between nutritional variables and major atherogenic risk factors including dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, impaired glucose tolerance, and overweight were investigated cross-sectionally in the total Framingham Offspring Study cohort of 3,800. The independent, quantitative effects of dietary factors on the prediction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality were explored longitudinally in two samples of the original Framingham cohort at 20 and 30 years of follow-up. Six major steps were followed in each set of analyses: dimension reduction using cluster and factor analysis; zero order independent nutrition variable analyses; stepwise multiple regression of independent variables; specification of overall regression models; stability and validity testing; the addition of intervening variables using multiple regression techniques. Multivariate analyses of the dependent variables were conducted to determine associations and interactions among these variables.