Technical Abstract: Previous studies suggested that dietary intakes affect individual risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome. The objective of this study was to examine dietary intakes in 1181 young adults aged 19-38 y; (38.1% men; 25% African Americans and 75% whites) in relation to metabolic syndrome risk factors in the Bogalusa Heart Study. Participants were stratified into 3 groups according to the number of risk factors (0, 1-2, >=3) associated with the metabolic syndrome according to the diagnostic criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program, and dietary intakes were compared between the groups with a cross-sectional analysis. After adjustment for age, total energy intake, body mass index, and physical activity, mean (+/- SE)intakes of fruit, fruit juice, and vegetables were significantly higher in subjects who had no risk factors than in subjects who had 1-2 risk factors (3.30 +/- 0.09 compared with 2.99 +/- 0.07 servings/d; P < 0.05). The mean intake sweetened beverages was lower in subjects who had no risk factors than in subjects who had 1-2 risk factors or greater than or equal to 3 risk factors among whites (1.45 +/- 0.08 compared with 1.77 +/- 0.07 and 2.22 +/- 0.15 serving/d, respectively, in men; 1.26 +/- 0.06 compared with 1.62 +/- 0.05 and 1.78 +/- 0.13 servings/d, respectively, in women; P < 0.001) but not among African Americans. Our results suggest that low fruit and vegetable consumption are high sweetened beverage consumption are independently associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in specific sex-ethnicity populations.