Among both Swedish men and women, doctors are considered to be the sexiest profession, according to a new study conducted by the SIFO polling firm on behalf of Swedish dating site E-kontakt.se.

Doctors received votes from 20 percent of Swedish men and 26 percent of Swedish women when asked which professions they found the sexiest, putting docs at the top of the list of sexiest professions for both genders.

Among men, however, doctors have to share the top spot with nurses, which also received 20 percent of the vote.

Women, on the other hand, voted cooks as the second sexiest profession, while teachers came in third place.

Teachers were also the third highest vote-getters among Swedish men, commanding 17 percent of the vote.

“Men and women seem to be in agreement that the sexiest professions are professions where people take care of other people,” Karin Boo, a love coach with E-kontakt.se, said in a statement.

“Careers which require good physical condition or high-pay seem to be less important.”

Stockholm-based doctor Hanna Holmgren was surprised that men considered doctors on par with nurses in terms of sex appeal.

“I would have thought nurses would have been considered more sexy,” she told The Local, adding that, in her experience, men can find women in high-powered careers to be intimidating.

“But doctors have traditionally been associated with a heightened economic and social status,” she said, something which likely contributes to their sex appeal.

Since becoming a doctor last year, the 25-year-old Holmgren doesn’t consider herself to have become sexier, however.

“If anything, I may be sexier because I’m older,” she said.

Thomas Flodin, chair Stockholms Läkareföreningen (‘Stockholm Association of Doctors’) attributed to how medical professionals are portrayed in the media.

“There are a number of popular televisions shows that perhaps make the profession appear rather glamourous,” he told The Local.

According to Boo, the fact that women found cooks to be so sexy was somewhat unexpected.

“It surprised me that the culinary profession is so popular among women,” she said.

“People often say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and apparently the same holds true for women.”

Sweden’s Sexiest Professions

Sexiest Among Men

1. Doctor – 20 %

2. Nurse – 20 %

3. Teacher – 17 %

4. Designer – 14 %

5. Cook – 11 %

6. Journalist – 6 %

7. CEO – 4 %

8. Flight attendant 4 %

9. Psychologist – 3 %

Sexiest Among Women:

1. Doctor – 26 %

2. Cook – 16 %

3. Teacher – 13 %

4. Firefighter – 11 %

5. Designer – 10 %

6. Police officer – 8 %

7. Journalist – 6 %

8. Psychologist – 5 %

9. CEO – 4 %

The results are based on a poll of 1,026 people carried out by SIFO between August 10-17, 2011