Baton Rouge residents felt more positive about their lives than 184 other US cities in 2009, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.The index ranked 185 cities using the categories of life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, healthy behavior, work environment and basic access.The survey polled more than 350,000 Americans in 2009.Baton Rouge ranked No. 54 in overall well-being, including first in the “life evaluation” category.Healthways described the life evaluation category as how people feel about their present lives and how they view themselves in the future.”As an out-of-state student, I definitely think Louisiana culture is more optimistic,” said Renee Smith, English literature senior and Missouri native.Baton Rouge ranked No. 47 in emotional health and placed No. 87 in physical health.To measure emotional health, participants were polled on whether they smiled or laughed, were treated with respect or were worried, angry or stressed the day before.Participants answered questions relating to sick days, daily energy and physical pain to rank physical health.Baton Rouge was No. 162 in the healthy behavior category, which evaluated habits like healthy eating, smoking and exercising.”I studied abroad in Barcelona, and my roommates were much more enthusiastic about exercising than people here,” said Trent Hermann political science freshman. But some think the area is more active.”We had the best weather in weeks last weekend, and tons of people were outside enjoying it,” said Paul Rogers, construction management freshman.Baton Rouge placed No. 123 in work environment, which measures factors like job satisfaction and trust within the workplace.”I think lots of people love to hate their jobs,” Hermann said. “They like to talk about how much they dislike it.”New Orleans ranked No. 138 overall, and Shreveport ranked No. 177 overall.The survey also evaluated each state using the index. Louisiana placed No. 41 in overall well-being.—–Contact Grace Montgomery at [email protected]