Not just fructose. In fruit fructose is fine. High fructose corn syrup is different and became prevelent in the 80's because of the sugar tariffs in the late 1970's in the USA.
Fructose found in fruit is indeed no different. But it is in fruit, bound up with fibre, protein, and many enzymes. In HFCS it's just fructose.
The delivery mechanism is more important here than the lab breakdown.
Modern fruit (due to selective breeding) is ultra sweet with what I can assume were pretty bland flavored fruit back in the day. Natures Candy.
My experience is that supermarket varieties of fruits are bigger and look better than local, traditional produce, or are more practical in other ways (thinner skin, less or no seeds) but are often insipid in comparison.
On the other hand (and this is just speculation), in the northern hemisphere most fruit is naturally available in the fall season. Fattening prior to winter was probably a desirable effect.
That's roughly equivalent to 7 apples, every day of the year. That's way, way above our actual fruit consumption levels.