The U.S. Federal regulators announced on Wednesday International sports shoe line Reebok International Limited will pay a total of $25 million refunds to its customers for false health claims over its EasyTone line sneakers.

Reebok's EasyTone athletic sneakers were introduced to mainstream markets in 2009. According to its manufacturers, the technology used was designed to provide slight instability, which may compel muscles to work harder with each step resulting in better legs and a more toned lower body area, the derriere.

However, Federal regulators said those EasyTone shoes may be just like any other shoes.

"Consumers expected to get a workout, not to get worked over," said David Vladeck, Director for the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Vladeck added that evidence to Reebok's fitness claims was not sufficient. When asked about the nature of such evidence, the bureau director refused to elaborate. He urged customers who bought EasyTone to fill out an application for refunds.

A spokesman of Reebok, Daniel Sarro, issued a statement specifying that the testing the company conducted was electromyography and other standard testing that the FTC felt was inadequate.

The $25 million settlement struck a blow on Reebok industry-- a unit of a more popular shoeline Adidas-- especially that it is already toiling with inventory pileups. The lawsuit that defies EasyTone's fitness claims may affect the industry's integrity.

"This is going to hurt. This comes at a time when the category is on the wane," Editorial Director for trade publication, Footwear News, Michael Atmore said.

Reebok, nevertheless, maintained it has not consented yet with the Bureau of Consumer Protection regarding the verdict of EasyTone's fitness feat.

"In order to avoid a protracted legal battle, Reebok has chosen to settle with the Federal Trade Commission," Daniel Sarro, a spokesman for Reebok wrote in a statement.

In 2008, Reebook commissioned a study at the University of Delaware involving five women wearing EasyTone sneakers, regular sneakers, and no sneakers while walking on a treadmill for five minutes. The electrodes recorded their muscle activity.

Reebok's EasyTone shot to fame when the company advertised its toner sneakers to be better-equipped than regular sneakers in toning legs and derriere. The shoe company sold more than five million pairs of shoes from the United States alone and recorded $1.1 billion revenues in 2010.