Dietary antioxidants, waist circumference, and pulmonary function were measured in the Fourth Scottish MONICA cross-sectional survey of 865 men and 971 women aged 25-64 years. Waist circumference was inversely related to forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC), even after adjustment for age, height, weight, working status, energy intake, and smoking variables in a multiple linear regression model (men: beta = -0.017 for FEV1 l/cm, p < 0.01 and beta = -0.008 for FVC, p = 0.04; women: beta = -0.009 for FEV1, p < 0.01 and beta = -0.007 for FVC, p = 0.01). After additional adjustment for waist circumference, estimated vitamin C and beta-carotene intakes were positively associated with lung function in men (vitamin C: beta = 0.102 for FEV1 l/mg/day, p = 0.03; beta-carotene: beta = 0.073 for FVC l/g/day, p = 0.02). Retinol and vitamin E were not significantly related to lung function for either sex. A case-control study of airway obstruction showed that waist circumference was significantly associated, while vitamin C could be protective. The study suggests that adequate intake of antioxidants and avoidance of increasing girth could help to preserve lung function.