Here's an interview with a UCSF professor who claims fructose in all its forms is a problem: http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/01/11/2013/the-fallacie...
Also http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/01/11/2013/the-fallacie...
http://www.crsociety.org/index.php?/topic/291-dr-lustig-on-f...
"I think that fruit is so much better a choice than virtually anything else in the store -- particularly any processed food -- that I don't want to come down on it. But I would say, fruit is one of those things where I would say, everything in moderation."
This sort of falls into the "duh" category. Just as a sensible person wouldn't consume a ton of saturated fats in the name of eating a high protein diet, a sensible person is not going to be eating 20 bananas and five pounds of strawberries a day in the name of getting enough fruit.
As for the professor's claim that exercise isn't effective for weight loss, I think laypeople should be aware of the tendency for academics to speak in macro terms. The vast majority of people I have met who are overweight and have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight a) do not have as healthy a diet as they believe they do (far too many processed foods) and b) if they exercise and exercise consistently (a big if), do not exercise long enough and intensely enough to burn fat and become conditioned.
Anecdotal? Yes, but instead of blaming specific foods and claiming that exercise isn't effective, let's just be honest: most people won't lose weight because they can't commit to major changes in their lifestyle.
What is a "healthy diet"? I don't believe there's a one-size-fits-all answer, but I mentioned processed foods because at the highest level, there is plenty of evidence that processed foods are problematic when consumed in the quantities they are being consumed in:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2897733/ http://news.yale.edu/2013/03/06/yale-researchers-identify-sa... http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/11/63 http://www.diabetes.org/news-research/research/access-diabet... http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/10/1950 http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/health-studie... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120210110038.ht...
If there is actual evidence, please cite it. I've never heard fruit proclaimed as bad for you. In fact, every major healthly eating initiative or campiagn (whether from governments, the World Health Organisation, or NGOs) always recommend consuming more fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet.
The fructose in fruit is not the same as high fructose corn syrup found in many processed foods. Yes, fruit can contribute to acid erosion on teeth, but this is also dependent on the type of fruit, the quantity you eat and when you eat it (e.g. eating fruit with a meal can lessen the impact of the sugar). Eating fresh fruit is always preferable to dried fruit or fruit juices.