Children who take a 15-minute break from daily routines to exercise experience better health, according to new research by experts from UK universities Stirling and Edinburgh.

The research, published May 10 in the journal BMC Medicine, shows that running or walking for 15 minutes helps those ages 4 to 12 to increase their time being physically active, decrease their time being sedentary, and decrease their body fat. It may also increase their fitness levels and help prevent health issues related to lack of exercise, including depression.

Study author Dr. Naomi Brooks told the BBC: “We observed a relative increase of 9.1 minutes per day in terms of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a relative decrease of 18.2 minutes per day in sedentary time.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends that children and adolescents get at least 60 minutes of aerobic activity daily.