![nike fit bits nike fit bits](http://media2.popsugar-assets.com/files/2015/01/19/018/n/1922398/fe0d0680_edit_img_cover_file_845321_1419710717_trackers-mainJkl7WK.xxxlarge/i/Comparison-Nike-FuelBand-FitBit-Jawbone-Up-More.jpg)
Not exactly known for humility, Nike isn’t being coy about how important it thinks Nike Fit will be. These problems aren’t welcome to anyone, but perhaps even less so to athletes whose footwear can affect their performance. “There was also evidence that incorrect footwear fitting was associated with foot pain and foot disorders such as lesser toe deformity, corns and calluses,” the researchers wrote. Specific groups, notably children with Down syndrome, older people, and people with diabetes, were especially likely to have shoes that were too narrow. Across the studies they examined, they found that between 63% and 72% of participants wore shoes that didn’t adequately accommodate the length or width of their feet. Last year, researchers at Melbourne’s La Trobe University conducted an extensive search and review of published findings on incorrectly fitted footwear and the problems it causes. There does seem to be some need for such a solution: A surprisingly large share of people wear shoes that don’t fit.
![nike fit bits nike fit bits](https://static.nike.com/a/images/t_PDP_1280_v1/f_auto,q_auto:eco/6cfb1a1e-ce94-4650-b9ce-b3dcf3cf5c36/dri-fit-strike-football-pants-640Psf.jpg)
Nike will begin rolling Nike Fit out on its app and to select US stores in July, with a further expansion to stores in Europe planned for August. The technology relies on the work of an Israeli computer-vision startup that Nike acquired last year. It sounds straightforward, but to make Nike Fit possible required more than a year of development, including testing and algorithmic training that Nike quietly conducted using thousands of shoppers coming through three of its US stores, as well as thousands of its own employees.