?? Lustig has been researching obesity since before GCBC was published. Here's an article he co-authored in 2003:

Suppression of insulin secretion is associated with weight loss and altered macronutrient intake and preference in a subset of obese adults.

And another from 2001: The neuroendocrinology of obesity

Lustig's been pursuing the hormonal origins of obesity for a long time; it's hard for me to see why he'd be considered a rider on Taubes's coattails. Taubes brought these ideas into wider consideration, but I think Lustig's bona fides are solid.