Stress has pleiotropic physiologic effects, but the neural circuits linking stress to these responses are not well understood. Here, we describe a novel population of lateral septum neurons expressing neurotensin (LS
Nts
) in mice that are selectively tuned to specific types of stress. LS
Nts
neurons increase their activity during active escape, responding to stress when flight is a viable option, but not when associated with freezing or immobility. Chemogenetic activation of LS
Nts
neurons decreases food intake and body weight, without altering locomotion and anxiety. LS
Nts
neurons co-express several molecules including Glp1r (glucagon-like peptide one receptor) and manipulations of Glp1r signaling in the LS recapitulates the behavioral effects of LS
Nts
activation. Activation of LS
Nts
terminals in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) also decreases food intake. These results show that LS
Nts
neurons are selectively tuned to active escape stress and can reduce food consumption via effects on hypothalamic pathways.