Взрослый человек сам отвечает за своё здоровье.

the person

Breakdown of Взрослый человек сам отвечает за своё здоровье.

• здоровье: the health
• сам: themselves
• свой: their

Questions & Answers about Взрослый человек сам отвечает за своё здоровье.

Why do we say взрослый человек instead of just взрослый?

In Russian, взрослый is an adjective meaning adult / grown-up.

• взрослый человек literally means an adult person.
• You can use взрослый as a noun on its own (meaning an adult), for example:
  
  • Взрослые должны показывать хороший пример. – Adults should set a good example.

In this specific sentence, взрослый человек sounds a bit more neutral and complete, like stressing that we are talking about a person who is an adult, not a child. Using взрослый alone here would also be understandable, but it might sound more general or stylistically different.

What nuance does сам add in сам отвечает?

сам here emphasizes that the adult is personally / by himself or herself responsible.

• отвечает за своё здоровье – is responsible for their health (a neutral fact).
• сам отвечает за своё здоровье – is themself responsible for their own health, implying:
  
  • No one else (parents, government, etc.) should be expected to take primary responsibility.
  • The responsibility is not shared or shifted to someone else.

So сам adds the idea of self-responsibility / personal responsibility and light emphasis.