When I first heard about move to earn, and subsequently play to earn I wondered if it was real or if it was a scam.

I have been reading more about move to earn, and have found some research https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24139781/ that indicates financial rewards do increase commitment to exercising at least in the first six months of the program.  Another study https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/article-abstract/2748659 found that a steady rate of financial rewards were more effective than those with ascending or descending financial rewards regarding exercise. The study also found that if the financial rewards stopped, the exercise behavior also stopped.

I was surprised about each of these findings. I know that rewarding human behavior (a paycheck for your job) is incentive for performance and leads to behavior changes/increases behavior. However, finding out that meager financial incentives offered by move to earn programs also lead to increased exercise behavior was a bit surprising. As a psychologist, I find this fascinating and in terms of a psychological perspective, it is not as surprising.

I love to exercise, and do it for the benefits of better sleep and feeling better after exercising. 

I have read a bit about Step https://step.app/ which is a celebrity endorsed move to earn fitness app. I do not like this app (full disclosure I have not used it) because you are required to buy a sneaker to use the app. To me this is a bit of a red flag, I should not have to buy a shoe to use an app. What a nice built in money maker for the owners. The shoes could be worthless and they make money.  Sorry, not happening.  

I also read about the Sweat Coin app https://sweatco.in/ I am not sure about this one, but it appears to be legit, offers multiple types of rewards, and you can donate to causes close to you. 

I am going to look into this further, but will join one soon. Any suggestions?