In an attempt to minimize dependency of conventional standardized uptake values (SUVs) of F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) normalized for the total body weight (TBW) on patient's body weight, the uses of SUV corrected for the lean body mass (LBM) and that corrected for the body surface area (BSA) have been proposed as alternatives. We compared the dependency of SUVLBM and SUVBSA on the overall body size. FDG-PET images were acquired on 44 patients. SUVLBM and SUVBSA for the liver were determined as previously described. Following normalization of the scales of the values obtained from these two approaches, the mean +/- S.D. was 2.86 +/- 0.52 (SUVLBM) and 2.86 +/- 0.50 (SUVBSA). A linear regression analysis was performed for correlating the liver SUVLBM and SUVBSA, with each of TBW, LBM, BSA and height. The dependency of the two values on TBW was similar. SUVLBM showed a moderate dependency on height (r = 0.56, P = 0.00007), LBM (r = 0.55, P = 0.0001) and BSA (r = 0.51, P = 0.0004), whereas SUVBSA showed no dependency on LBM (r = 0.18, P = 0.24) or height (r = 0.20, P = 0.19), and a minimal dependency on BSA (r = 0.38, P = 0.01). In conclusion, SUVBSA appears to be less dependent on overall body size, particularly height and lean body mass, than SUVLBM.