I feel like I should step in and throw some cold water on the crowd...
Sure, in our everyday reality, a cold shower (water) would jolt people's minds and reset the perspective to a less harrowing, less over-the-top, less hyper-obsessive reaction to a rather trivial game element.
BUT MY RPG PASSION BUBBLETH OVERETH ( I MUST SAY WITH GLEE AND EXASPERATION ) !!!
(AHEM)
My personal opinion (which is shared by anywhere from 5 to 95% of the RPG playing population), is that in NON-Fantasy, generally realistic RPGs like Fallout, having a requirement to stock water in order to avoid dehydration and death is consistent.
But in a fantasy RPG realm, where fire-breathing dragons, healing spells, aggressive/destructive combat spells, magically enchanted weapons, and a myriad of science-defying phenomenon exist, it's contradictory and inconsistent to say "yeah, the laws of 2008 AD science are out the window, but your character still needs to gather and consume 1000+ calories per day and meet the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamins, minerals and nutrients" is really quite silly, mundane, tedious, menial, entirely inappropriate and totally unneccessary *in the context* of a science-defying *fantasy* role-playing *game*.
I'd much rather see you great, creative and courageous indie RPG developers trash the temptation to include mundane 2008 AD realisms in favor of spending more time and resources on party-based play, dialogue depth, game size and NPC development.
Again, that's my personal opinion, and since we are talking recreational games here (yes, I have to remind myself of that, it's my own cold shower), the artistic inclinations of the creators (you) reign supreme and argumentative logic need not apply (in the realm of recreational video games).