Research from Victoria University has found healthcare services aren't always suitable for the morbidly obese.

The research looks at the challenges of critically ill patients weighing between 120 and 180 kilograms. Researchers found the equipment being used based on a patient's weight was often unsuitable.

PhD student Caz Hales says in one case she observed a patient weighing 180 kilograms on a bed meant to take a weight of 260, and says the patient's skin folds were hanging over the side.

She says she found staff were extremely sensitive about the social stigma around obesity, going so far as to ignore the issue of the patient's weight.