A little running has big health benefits, and lots of running may not do much more, researchers say.

Compared with no running at all, fewer than 50 minutes of running per week reduced the risk for death from all causes by 27%, report Zeljko Pedisic, PhD, associate professor of public health at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Researchers found that running reduced the risk for mortality by 27%, the risk for cardiovascular mortality by 30%, and cancer mortality risk by 23% for all participants.