Does fruit make you gain weight because of its sugar?

Short answer

No. People who ate one more daily serving of whole fruit gained 0.24 kg less over 4 years. At the same calories, fructose did not change body weight either. But just adding fruit did not cause weight loss, and juice added weight as far as it added calories.

Does fruit make you gain weight because of its sugar?
'Fruit = fructose → fat' — does this formula hold?
Many dieters cut out fruit, saying its sugar makes you fat. A common claim is that fructose in fruit turns straight into fat. We checked how the body weight of people who ate fruit actually changed.
Over years, they actually gained less
People who ate more fruit gained less weight
Following 133,468 people for up to 24 years, each extra daily serving of fruit meant 0.24 kg less weight gain over 4 years. Berries meant 0.50 kg less, and apples and pears 0.56 kg less. In an analysis of 563,277 people, those who ate the most fruit had a 17% lower risk of becoming overweight.
So does fructose make you fat?
At the same calories, weight did not differ
In 31 trials with 637 people, swapping other carbs for fructose at the same calories made no difference in body weight. Weight rose 0.53 kg only when 104–250 g of fructose a day, 18–97% of daily calories, was added on top. It was the extra calories, not fructose, that added weight.
Whole fruit fills you up
An apple first cut lunch calories by 15%
When 58 people ate an apple (125 kcal) 15 minutes before lunch, their total lunch calories, apple included, were 15% (187 kcal) lower than on days with nothing beforehand. Apple juice or applesauce with the same calories did not fill them up as much as a whole apple.
So does eating more fruit make you lose weight?
Just adding it did not
An analysis of 7 trials that had people eat more fruits and vegetables without being told to cut other foods found no change in body weight. Fruit is not a food that burns fat; it cuts calories when it replaces other snacks. Apples come in at 74 kcal per 1 serving.
But juice was different
Juice added weight as far as it added calories
Each extra daily glass of 100% fruit juice meant 0.21 kg more weight gain. In studies that accounted for calories eaten, it meant 0.08 kg less. What added weight with juice was not the sugar but the calories that slip in so easily.
Bottom line: whole fruit did not make people fat
Whole fruit instead of juice, fruit instead of snacks
People who ate more fruit actually gained less, and fructose did not change body weight at the same calories. Just adding fruit did not cause weight loss. There is no need to cut fruit on a diet: whole fruit instead of juice, and an apple (74 kcal) instead of chips, is enough.