Corn-fed

This morning I saw an utterly idiotic "news" story about how corn is contributing to obesity. Corn is not the problem. Processed foods consumed without ever reading the label are a problem, and corn products happen to be the villain of the hour out of the combined ingredients found on many labels. Processed foods have all sorts of things in them in addition to or other than corn.
At home, I process sliced apples by soaking them in a combination of pineapple juice and lemon juice. My purpose in doing this is to maintain the crisp texture and white color of the flesh. Guess what?! The processed apples have more calories than freshly cut apple slices because the fruit juices used to preserve the fruit's appearance have calories. I know this, but I am not going to obsess over figuring out the calorie count or post a sign on my fruit tray stating that the apples contain "hidden" ingredients! If I were to sell those same apples, I would be required to include the fruit juices on the food label just like the packages of processed foods found in my local market do.
Rather than blaming corn for American obesity, why don't we look at the quantities of food consumed and exercise performed? Diane Sawyer also brought up the idea of linking diabetes to corn, but the gentleman they interviewed in an attempt to suggest an unsubstantiated link between corn and diabetes claimed both a family history of diabetes and states that he consumes sugar-loaded sodas daily. (Those sodas specified high-fructose corn syrup as an ingredient, and that same ingredient is a sugar, but it's not new or fun to vilify sugar this week.)
I get tired of the so-called news stories that are purposefully inflammatory. I don't happen to share the victim mentality that the media seems to paint. If I eat corn, it's unlikely to make me fat or cause diabetes. If I overeat processed foods, I am far more likely to be overweight or obese and in time to develop diabetes as well as other health problems. This is hardly a newsflash. I did not particularly appreciate the attempt on ABC's part to feed me a line of bull with only a kernel of truth this morning.