Objective: The relationship between visceral fat, liver fat, diet, fitness, and metabolic risk factors of westernized inactive young men of Asian (AM) and European (EM) descent were compared. Methods: AM (n=22) and EM (n=18) males had body composition measured by DEXA and computerized tomography (CT). Maximal oxygen consumption, diet, insulin, HOMA-IR, glucose, and blood lipids were also assessed. Results: Insulin resistance was significantly higher in AM compared to EM(P < 0.05). In contrast to EM, waist circumference(r = 0.74, P < 0.01) and liver fat (r = 0.74, P < 0.01) were significantly associated with visceral fat in AM. Fasting glucose was correlated with visceral and liver fat in AM(r = 0.60; r = 0.58, P < 0.01) but not in EM.  Relative to body mass, protein consumption was significantly higher in the AM (23%) compared to the EM (17%), P < 0.01. In contrast to EM, insulin resistance was correlated to protein (r = 0.85, P < 0.01) and saturated fat consumption (r = 0.90, P < 0.01) in AM. Also visceral fat was correlated to protein (r = 0.63, P < 0.05) and saturated fat consumption (r = 0.85, P < 0.05) in the AM but not in the EM group. Conclusion: The visceral and liver fat of overweight AM males who were unfit and consumed high levels of protein was more strongly related to metabolic syndrome markers than EM males.