Jack LaLanne, prophet of fitness

Jack LaLanne, who died Sunday at the age of 96, was a prophet worthy of a lot more honor. A pioneering fitness buff who brought exercise into every home that had a television, he was also a visionary.

LaLanne was not a scientist or a physician, yet he was way ahead of his time. In an age of brown liquor and bleeding steaks, he preached that exercise can mean a healthier and longer life - which decades of studies have confirmed. He even argued that exercise could boost energy and ease "nervous tension" - again, right on both counts.

Nor, in his view, was fitness only for Charles Atlas wannabes. He believed exercise was for women, too - his daytime viewers were mostly homemakers - and he correctly claimed that the elderly and people with disabilities could also benefit.

LaLanne, who practiced far more exercise than he actually preached, was no less prescient on the diet front. At a time when many physicians were still smoking cigarettes, he urged Americans to eat more leafy vegetables and fresh fruits instead of junk food. Even when ours was a much leaner country, he was a sworn enemy of sugary and processed items.

For a while LaLanne was a figure of fun to late-night talk show hosts - many of whom he outlived. But amid our national obesity epidemic, more of us could profit from living by the teachings of this particular prophet.